Beijing architecture studio MAD has designed an artificial island with an art museum set in caves in its three dune-like forms. Set in a reservoir on Pingtan island in China’s Fujian province, the Pingtan Art Museum will be the largest private museum in Asia, displaying a collection of over a thousand Chinese artworks and objects. The museum itself acts as a smaller scale island off the Pingtan Island itself, connected to land only by a slightly undulating pier, which, in turn, bridges artificial and natural, city and culture, as well as history and future. The museum represents a long-lasting earthscape in water and is a symbol of the island in ancient times. The sea, the beach, the oasis and the slope all interconnect with each other, forming a harmonious capacious space with the mountains in the distance. The building is constructed with concrete that is blended with local sand shells. The indoor space, formed by the rise and fall of the formal movements, looks similar to ancient caves. (source).
[easy-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,linkedin,mail” counters=0 native=”no” image=https://live-ehc-english-ucsb-edu-v01.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/yusuke-asai-waf-1.jpg url=https://live-ehc-english-ucsb-edu-v01.pantheonsite.io/?p=7121 facebook_text=Share twitter_text=Tweet linkedin_text=Link text=”Pingtan Art Museum by MAD”]
[/av_one_third]
Cateura, Paraguay, is a town essentially built on top of a landfill. A few years ago, one of the garbage pickers, Cola, an untutored genius of the slum, got together with local musician Favio Chavez to make instruments for the children of the slum. There was no money for real instruments so together they started to make instruments from trash – violins and cellos from oil drums, flutes from water pipes and spoons, guitars from packing crates. Children like the luminous Ada and her friend Tania, pick them up. With their help and the support of many in the slum, Favio slowly puts together one of the world’s most unlikely orchestras.Landfill Harmonic shows how trash and recycled materials can be transformed into beautiful sounding musical instruments, but more importantly, it brings witness to the transformation of precious human beings. (source).
[easy-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,linkedin,mail” counters=0 native=”no” image=https://live-ehc-english-ucsb-edu-v01.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/yusuke-asai-waf-1.jpg url=https://live-ehc-english-ucsb-edu-v01.pantheonsite.io/?p=7758 facebook_text=Share twitter_text=Tweet linkedin_text=Link text=”Landfill Harmonic”]
“A Song of Our Warming Planet,” came about following a conversation Crawford had with geography professor Scott St. George during an internship. St. George asked Crawford about the possibility of turning a set of data into music. Crawford used an approach called data sonification to convert global temperature records into a series of musical notes. The result is a haunting sequence that traces the warming of our planet year by year since the late 19th century. During a run of cold years between the late 1800s and early 20th century, the cello is pushed towards the lower limit of its range. The piece moves into the mid-register to track the modest warming that occurred during the 1940s. As the sequence approaches the present, the cello reaches higher and higher notes, reflecting the string of warm years in the 1990s and 2000s. (source).
[easy-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,linkedin,mail” counters=0 native=”no” image=https://live-ehc-english-ucsb-edu-v01.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/yusuke-asai-waf-1.jpg url=https://live-ehc-english-ucsb-edu-v01.pantheonsite.io/?p=7350 facebook_text=Share twitter_text=Tweet linkedin_text=Link text=”A Song of Our Warming Planet”]
In Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the amount of available greenery has diminished. While the landscape was originally lush with tropical forests, it’s currently experiencing rapid urbanization, as are other cities in the country. There’s an overabundance of motorbikes that cause traffic congestion and serious air pollution problems. To help combat this issue is House for Trees designed by Vo Trong Nghia Architects. Intended to return green space to the city, these building concepts feature big trees on their roofs. The structure is thought of as a “pot,” or a vessel for the vegetation to grow. Thick soil layers will function as storm-water basins for detention and retention. This means that they will help reduce the risk of flooding in the city, in addition to providing benefits like cleaner air. And, depending on how the trees are positioned, they can create a tranquil space for residents to escape from the hustle and bustle of urban life. (source).
[easy-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,linkedin,mail” counters=0 native=”no” image=https://live-ehc-english-ucsb-edu-v01.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/yusuke-asai-waf-1.jpg url=https://live-ehc-english-ucsb-edu-v01.pantheonsite.io/?p=7328 facebook_text=Share twitter_text=Tweet linkedin_text=Link text=”Trees on Roofs Replenishes Green Space”]
Stefano Boeri Architects’ Bosco Verticale towers are now complete. The “world’s first vertical forest” comprises a pair of luxury high-rises that add nearly 2.5 acres of lush vegetation to the skyline of Milan, a city notorious for its air pollution. However, Bosco Verticale will be more than just a beautiful sight to behold–like a pair of green lungs, its forested facade of 21,000 plants will absorb CO2 and particulates, dampen noise pollution, lessen the urban heat island effect, and create oxygen and favorable microclimates. The superstructure was also recently shortlisted for the prestigious International Highrise Building Award 2014 as one of the five most beautiful and innovative high-rises in the world that were recently completed. (source).
[easy-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,linkedin,mail” counters=0 native=”no” image=https://live-ehc-english-ucsb-edu-v01.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/yusuke-asai-waf-1.jpg url=https://live-ehc-english-ucsb-edu-v01.pantheonsite.io/?p=7323 facebook_text=Share twitter_text=Tweet linkedin_text=Link text=”Stefano Boeri’s Bosco Verticale”]
“Stacked” is a photo series that features the compact urban architecture of Hong Kong. Standing from below, Australia-based photographer Peter Stewart points his camera upwards to capture the abstract shapes which form the densely populated public housing structures. The stacked, repetitive architecture dominates the sky in its vertical journey and, although the buildings have evidence of life within, the images lack any human presence as the photographer focuses mainly on the urban environment alone. Stewart says, “My passion stems from travel and the desire to visit and document all the amazing places the world has to offer. My goal is simply to create images that make you go ‘wow.'” (source).
[easy-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,linkedin,mail” counters=0 native=”no” image=https://live-ehc-english-ucsb-edu-v01.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/yusuke-asai-waf-1.jpg url=https://live-ehc-english-ucsb-edu-v01.pantheonsite.io/?p=7313 facebook_text=Share twitter_text=Tweet linkedin_text=Link text=”Peter Stewart’s Stacked”]
The legendary city of Atlantis isn’t lost, it turns out—it just hasn’t been built yet. Japanese engineering firm Shimizu Corp recently announced their proposal for Ocean Spiral, an underwater city designed to house several thousand residents and sustain itself on eco-friendly energy from the seabed below. The plan is predicted to cost $26 billion and, once construction begins, take only five years to complete. Shimizu’s Ocean Spiral will be divided into three sections: the city itself, a sphere suspended 1,640 feet below the ocean’s surface that will feature both residential and business establishments, a 9-mile spiral path beneath the structure, and Ocean Spiral’s “earth factory,” according to the project’s press release. With the help of microorganisms, this “factory” will convert carbon dioxide to methane and generate energy from thermal differences in the surrounding sea. As fantastic as Ocean Spiral may sound, Shimizu spokesman told the Guardian that the submerged city isn’t just possible but—technology willing—extremely achievable. (source).
[easy-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,linkedin,mail” counters=0 native=”no” image=https://live-ehc-english-ucsb-edu-v01.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/yusuke-asai-waf-1.jpg url=https://live-ehc-english-ucsb-edu-v01.pantheonsite.io/?p=7278 facebook_text=Share twitter_text=Tweet linkedin_text=Link text=”Shimizu’s Underwater City”]
The Guggenheim Helsinki Design Competition is the first open, international architectural competition to be organized by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. This initiative reflects the Guggenheim’s long history of engagement with architecture and design and its belief that outstanding original design can speak across cultures, refreshing and enlivening the urban environment. The reserved site is located in the Eteläsatama, or South Harbor area, an urban space of great national and cultural significance, close to the historic city center and immediately visible to visitors arriving by sea. From the Stage One entries, the jury has selected six proposals to advance to Stage Two of the competition. They will be asked to expand on their Stage One design and produce a master plan model. (source).
[easy-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,linkedin,mail” counters=0 native=”no” image=https://live-ehc-english-ucsb-edu-v01.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/yusuke-asai-waf-1.jpg url=https://live-ehc-english-ucsb-edu-v01.pantheonsite.io/?p=7187 facebook_text=Share twitter_text=Tweet linkedin_text=Link text=”Guggenheim Helsinki Finalists”]
With this extension of the JST Malaysia factory, Japanese architect Ryuichi Ashizawa has worked with nature, capturing sunlight, wind, rainwater and geothermal energy to build a living green factory that sits lightly on the earth. With elegant Islamic architectural elements and forward thinking engineering, the complex completely transcends the usual factory typology. The central tower contains an office space that encourages a zen-like atmosphere amongst co-workers and it’s east-west orientation minimizes the effect of solar radiation to keep office workers cool inside. When workers pop out for a break, they’re able to take a walk around the green roof via a path that links the tower and the roof to the surrounding landscape. Vines are trained to grow up wires, forming a green facade, shading the glass from the sun and letting beautiful dappled light through. The vines also hang over the helter-skelter like curving path that invites employees to take a stroll out into the surrounding forest or around the surrounding structures. (source).
[easy-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,linkedin,mail” counters=0 native=”no” image=https://live-ehc-english-ucsb-edu-v01.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/yusuke-asai-waf-1.jpg url=https://live-ehc-english-ucsb-edu-v01.pantheonsite.io/?p=7136 facebook_text=Share twitter_text=Tweet linkedin_text=Link text=”Malaysian Factory Harmonizes with Nature”]
The subtle beauty of a forest is illuminated with projection-mapped light in “bioluminescent forest”, a film by artists Friedrich van Schoor and Tarek Mawad. The artists spent six weeks in the forest fascinated by the silence and natural occurrences in nature, especially the phenomenon “bioluminescence”. They personified the forest to accentuate the natural beauty by creating luring luminescent plants and glowing magical mushrooms that speaks volumes to any visitor that enters the minds of the artists through viewing “bioluminescent forest”. Set to an ethereal score by Berlin-based composer Achim Treu, the resulting film pulses with augmented life, teeming with the verdant beauty of the natural world, enhanced. (source).
[easy-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,linkedin,mail” counters=0 native=”no” image=https://live-ehc-english-ucsb-edu-v01.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/yusuke-asai-waf-1.jpg url=https://live-ehc-english-ucsb-edu-v01.pantheonsite.io/?p=7095 facebook_text=Share twitter_text=Tweet linkedin_text=Link text=”bioluminescent forest”]
Beijing architecture studio MAD has designed an artificial island with an art museum set in caves in its three dune-like forms. Set in a reservoir on Pingtan island in China’s Fujian province, the Pingtan Art Museum will be the largest private museum in Asia, displaying a collection of over a thousand Chinese artworks and objects. The museum itself acts as a smaller scale island off the Pingtan Island itself, connected to land only by a slightly undulating pier, which, in turn, bridges artificial and natural, city and culture, as well as history and future. The museum represents a long-lasting earthscape in water and is a symbol of the island in ancient times. The sea, the beach, the oasis and the slope all interconnect with each other, forming a harmonious capacious space with the mountains in the distance. The building is constructed with concrete that is blended with local sand shells. The indoor space, formed by the rise and fall of the formal movements, looks similar to ancient caves. (source).
[easy-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,linkedin,mail” counters=0 native=”no” image=https://live-ehc-english-ucsb-edu-v01.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/yusuke-asai-waf-1.jpg url=https://live-ehc-english-ucsb-edu-v01.pantheonsite.io/?p=7121 facebook_text=Share twitter_text=Tweet linkedin_text=Link text=”Pingtan Art Museum by MAD”]