Architecture & Web Art

Author Archive

by Yuka Yoneda

Arcology may sound like a made up word – probably because it is. A hybrid of architecture and ecology, it is essentially a mega city which packs a ginormous population into one hyperstructure – think Death Star, Zion in The Matrix or the Anthill of Antz fame. Now, a real-life a group of ambitious designers has taken their looming pyramidal arcology and placed it smack dab on the Mississippi River as a proposal for the rebuild of New Orleans which is currently in progress. This 30 million square foot beast-building with an array of green features is aptly named NOAH (Get it? Noah and the Arcology?), and is meant to house 40,000 mostly human residents.

Skateboards these days are amazing examples of graphic design, and some are practically objets d’art – what a shame that they should to go to a landfill after the boards have lost their pop! Thankfully, Pennsylvania-based Deckstools is here to keep art from the trash heap and to add style to your pad with their striking line of furniture made from reclaimed skateboards.

Inspired by the way that skateboards consistently break, designer and craftsman Jason Podlaski hand selects broken board parts, and builds every stool in his Pennsylvania factory. A unique aspect of the design is that the cast aluminum trucks, which connect the deck to the wheels, are repurposed as hardware that joins the seat to the legs of the Deckstool. If you are in the Philadelphia area this weekend, you can see the stools and other recycled skateboard creations on display at VGroove Studios.

Simply beautiful design.

The Pavilion of Ideas, designed by Heatherwick Studio, beat five other short-listed designs, including plans put forward by the creators of the London Eye – the largest Ferris wheel in the world – to becomes the winner. The pavilion looks like a box with thousands of spines that hover without visible support above a public square.

All the spines, which can swing in the breeze, are tipped with tiny colored light sources which can display a variety of images together.

Inside the pavilion, visitors will see an enormous digital screen showing various contents. The outside area of the pavilion will be an exhibition space and auditorium as well as a cafe and shops surrounded by two strips of grass. The pavilion will be as ecological as possible and the designers are trying to make all the aspects recyclable and carbon-neutral. It is light, without heavy concrete foundations and will “touch the ground softly,” according to the introduction by Heatherwich.

I just discovered this guy, and I was simply astonished by his work, hope you will like it too.

Traces in Snow

Resurrection

White Hand

All in all

Angel

Cradle2

Half Way Through 3

Little Erected Ruinb

The Short Distance

Web Closet

Butterflies

London Detail

Impenetrable Castle

In the beginning

In the shadow

Looking Back

Man made of woman

Architects: Neil M. Denari Architects
Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA
Project Team: Neil Denari and Duks Koschitz with Joe Willendra
Program: 2,000 sf conversion of residence
Client: Eric Alan and Rhonda Voo
Budget: US $700,000
Project year: 2007
Photographs: Benny Chan of Fotoworks

The clients for this house renovation / extension, a couple with three daughters, are a creative, democratic unit. The father directs film trailers, the mother is a graphic designer and illustrator, while the high school / middle school / elementary school aged daughters are all immersed in their own versions of their parents visual cultures. The family have asked that 1,000 sf be added to the site in addition to the existing 1,000 sf house.