Thursday, December 29, 2011

Today we go to the WELL

Stepwells are wells or ponds in which the water can be reached by descending a set of steps. Dated to 600 AD, stepwells are essentially inverted ziggurats excavated from the earth, producing an infrastructural monument to water collection.

here are some interesting ones:









here are some more stepwells



Thursday, December 22, 2011

DYNAMIC ARCHITECTURE

Happy Holidays Folks

“Check it out!”


Michael Hadley has sent you a link to a blog: “Take a look at this!” Structural, and Mechanical Engineers put your thinking caps on for this Challenge!”

DYNAMIC ARCHITECTURE
Today’s Environment of the Week will be Dynamic Architecture by David Fisher
 

Thank you Maricela Cordova for today’s YEOW suggestion!
[If anyone else has any YEOW’s they’d like to share, please feel free to let me know! Thx J]


Do Enjoy! Y.our E.nvironment O.f the W.eek



David Fisher (fl. c. 2000) is an Israeli-born Italian architect in Florence. He graduated from the University of Florence and also was a lecturer of architecture and structural engineering at the same university. He has designed buildings and proposed schemes for the restoration of ancient monuments. He has dealt with prefabrication and construction technologies. He has invented the concept of the “rotating tower”. David Fisher is the designer of the proposed rotating Dynamic Tower, billed as the world's first building in motion. It was designed with the firm Dynamic Architecture Group.[4] The intention was to build an 80-story skyscraper in Dubai. It would have had revolving floors, some of which could have moved on command, providing residents with an ever-changing shape along with a changing view of the Persian Gulf. This would have been Fisher's first skyscraper design.[5] In addition to Dubai, rotating towers were thought for London, Paris, New York, Moscow and Bogotá. These towers are planned to be built.
















For more information see link below:

Friday, December 16, 2011

Top 10 Things you’ll never hear an Architect say

Architects are cliché and are easily defined by stereotypes. Everyone knows it – even the client – so there is no sense in fighting it. See if you have ever said any of the following things:
.

.
1) I’ll be home early tonight
2) I really should add some black clothing to my wardrobe, I wear too much color
3) Everything is going perfectly on your project
4) Your building is ahead of schedule and under budget
5) This will be my second vacation this year
6) You should listen to the contractor – he has fantastic design ideas
7) You have way too much money budgeted for this project
8 ) I learned everything I ever needed to know in college
9) I didn’t spend enough time in school
10) Designing that project was super easy, took almost no time at all
11) I can’t believe they pay me this much for so little work
12) I’m not much of a book reader
13) Just cut that tree down, there are plenty of trees all over this neighborhood
14) That’s okay, nobody will notice it besides me so you can leave it that way
15) I’ve never been wrong but you can just add a lamp later if you think it will be dark
16) I think I will get the eyeglasses with the silver frames, you’ll hardly notice them on my face
17) I am going to reduce my fees since this project is so straight forward
18) They are hiring me for my artistic abilities and don’t care how much it costs
19) At this rate, I’ll be able to retire by the time I’m 50 years old
20) I get to spend most of the fee actually designing the project
21) It’s having all the groupies that makes being an architect so rewarding
22) There should really be more codes to govern this
23) Most Planning and Zoning Departments have really got it all figured out
24) Which car should I drive to work today
25) I don’t think there is enough glass block in this project – work in some more
26) The idea of living in a house I designed sounds terrible
27) I think we should pull in some more consultants and get their opinion
28) Speculative development is the best because you can do whatever you want
29) I hate talking about architecture, I work on that crap all day
30) I don’t see ‘Zombies’ on your programming requirements
.
Do you think I missed any? Add them in the comment section -

IF YOU ARE UPSET,LAUGHING,EMBARRASSED AFTER READING THIS, GRAB SOME COFEE AND WATCH THE MOVIE BELOW! WISH THE LIDAR COULD DO THIS!!!!!!!





(By the way, if for some reason this post resonates with you, you might also enjoy ‘When you are an Architect…‘ that someone put together back in January)
See link bleow for more info:

Friday, December 9, 2011

Space Station America

Foster and Partners has designed the worlds first Space Port being built in New Mexico.  Here are some images from their web site:

For more information and construction photographs please visit the Space Port America's web site.
http://www.spaceportamerica.com/

Friday, December 2, 2011

Troll Wall Restaurant

Happy Friday everyone! 

Today's YEOW will be on the Troll Wall Restaurant by Reiulf Ramstad Architects.



Trollwall Restaurant by Reiulf Ramstad Architects

"The building is located at the foot of the tallest vertical rock face in Europe, in Norway’s Romsdal Valley.

More text from the Architects:

Trollwall Restaurant
It’s a new cursor at the foot of the Troll Wall; The architecture of the new visitors`center next to E139 is an outcome of the sites` close connection to the impressive mountain wall, Europe’s tallest vertical, overhanging rock face in The Romsdal Valley.

The Romsdal valley has some of the tallest, sheerest cliffs in Europe and is a popular place for BASE jumping including “birdmen” jumping off cliffs in Wingsuits!
This location allows for an exciting setting for the new service- and information center.RRAs proposal is carefully planned in relation to the Troll Wall. 
At the same time it is building a character and identity which in itself will be an attraction in the region.
The building has a simple, though flexible plan, with a characteristic roof that has its character from the majestetic surrounding landscape."
-Amy Frearson



Trollwall Restaurant by Reiulf Ramstad Architects



Trollwall Restaurant by Reiulf Ramstad Architects
Dazeen











































For more information and really nice photos, go here:
http://www.dezeen.com/2011/12/01/troll-wall-restaurant-by-reiulf-ramstad-architects/