Artisans Ayutthaya Women Restaurant by Boonserm Premthada (Thailand)
I’ve never seen glass block assembled within a wood frame like this. Also, the outside begs for a look at the inside.
‘One curiosity of this place is that most of the residents are unmarried or widowed women,’ says Premthada. ‘Their daily activity is to give alms to monks in the early morning at a small run-down village temple. They try their best to earn money to repair the temple. Each of them cooks a few specialties in large pots and packs the food in smaller individual bags to offer to the monks and exchange among themselves. This is where the project began.’ Read more.
Off Grid House by Anderson Architecture (Australia)
This is one of those projects where the more you learn about it the more interesting it becomes (e.g. the way it opens up, the zero energy pieces, material choices, etc.) More here.
Taketa History and Culture Museum - Kengo Kuma (Japan)
Elegant use of bamboo and other local materials. A theme of Kuma’s work is learning to live with less. Read more.
U-Build by Studio Bark
Interesting flat pack houses out of the UK. Perfect DIY-ish cabin project. Visit their site here.
Eco Cabanas by Gracias Studio (Mexico)
Lightly set on a hillside overlooking vineyards. If it’s not already the case, I could imagine these pods with a centrally located main lodge comprised of kitchen, dining hall, lounge, etc. Night seems like it could be a bit treacherous with little lighting and no railings - maybe that adds to the excitement. Read more.
Pedaling through California’s Redwoods - Rail Bikes
This seems like a fun way to re-use abandoned train lines, get a little exercise in a low impact way and absorb a little nature. Also feels a touch science-fictiony. Read more.
El Terreno Communal Garden - Vertebral Architects (MEXICO CITY)
Lots to love about this entirely recycled/re-used educational garden. It will be on my list when headed to Mexico City (hopefully in the near future). Read more.
Bamboo ARC in the Balinese jungle by Ibuku
On the site of the Green School – a private educational institution that promotes sustainability. The building's organic form and structure were informed by natural systems, in particular, how ribcages are held in place by the tension from an outer layer of muscle and skin. Read more.
Kö-Bogen II Office Building / ingenhoven architects (Germany)
Olympic Architecture
Here are two examples of buildings designed for specific Olympic events. It appears for sustainability sake, reuse is gaining popularity over iconic structures. Read more.
Yoyogi National Stadium by Kenzo Tange (1964)
Handball, badminton and wheelchair rugby
Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium by Fumihiko Maki (1991)
Table tennis
Juvet Landscape Hotel by Jensen & Skodvin Arkitektkontor (NORWAY)
Subtle and thoughtful hotel that is low impact and blends in nicely. Read more.
Bamboo Bridge
Lovely. Read more about how Low-Tech Lab (France) and an 84yr old local artisan designed, engineered and (in 25 days) built this elegant pedestrian bridge in China
Cousins River Residence - OPAL Architecture/Research/Design (Maine)
Here’s a good example of simple, smart and small-ish (1,600sf): one story passive house with shed roofs and covered porch/connection to garage. This was not OPAL’s first rodeo. Read more.
Garðabær Kindergarten by sastudio (Iceland)
This was the winning entry by a young studio in Iceland. It brings me even more hope for the future when I see projects like this - places for our children to spend their formative years where surroundings are alive, sunny and demonstrate the importance of sustainability. Read more.
Neom - Pioneering Desalination Technology in Saudi Arabia
Through a solar means of heating salt water and collecting the evaporated fresh water, this company is trying to make this historically high energy and massively destructive industry, sustainable. It takes 2 gallons of salt water to get 1 gallon of fresh water. So what happens to all the salty brine that’s left over? At great cost it typically is dumped back in the oceans and ends up destroying ecosystems. Some potential solutions with this approach include using the salt byproducts in the production of lithium batteries, grit for roads, fertiliser or detergents. See short video here showing the basic idea of how the desalination plant works.
Burkina Institute of Technology (West Africa) Kéré Architecture
Designed by local Burkina architect Francis Kéré, this school is that great blend of modern meets vernacular. With the locally sourced materials and the smart systems this Institute stays cool in the hot months and dry in the wet season. Read more.
Davison Collaborative (Australia) by HIP V. HYPE
Nicely crafted sustainable townhouse project in Brunswick. The thoughtful downspouts tell me everything about the rest of the design. Read more.
Microlino
The Swiss Microlino is a tiny electric car that’s just gone into production. It gets up to 200 miles on a full charge and is expected to sell for around $14K US. A fleet of these in the right place would be very fun, especially on an island full of clowns.
Habitat for Humanity Beginning First 3D-Printed House (Tempe, AZ)
This seems like perfect grounds for experimenting with this new-ish technology, given the majority of Habitat for Humanity labor is typically volunteer. Will update as these homes become finished and will provide any information around the process. Read more.
Also, I’ve always like the idea that ‘traditional’ 3D printers could be used to make more 3D printers, I look fwd to seeing other things that can be done with these large scale printers.
