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[dezeen]

10 unconventional lounges from Dezeen’s Pinterest boards ›

[dezeen]

Architect Asif Khan has created three temporary pavilions thick with plants to give the harried London public space to relax, work and socialise »

[dezeen]

Warsaw studio MFRMGR has renovated the offices of Polish sound production company Ztudio, using wooden frames and polycarbonate sheets to create semi-transparent workspaces »

[dezeen]

Vietnamese architect Vo Trong Nghia is continuing his bid to make bamboo “the green steel of the 21st century” with this gridded pavilion at theSherman Contemporary Art Foundation in Sydney »

[humanscalecities]

Can the Wired City Also Be the Equitable One?

Making the city fair, when all is digitally optimized.

[coolthingoftheday]

The Earth at night. Photographs taken by NASA.

(Source)

[humanscalecities]

How we live now: inside the revolution in urban living

As the world urbanises, we present five portraits of people who are pioneering new ways of living in cities – from the men who sleep in Tokyo’s net cafes to the Londoners embracing ‘co-housing’

[publicdesignfestival]

And if Internet doesn’t exist? Civitacampomarano is a tiny village in the South of Italy with just 400 inhabitants where the connections are practically missing. With Web 0.0 project the artist Biancoshock changes our perspective by means of a provocative idea:  Internet “in real life” is made by everyday’s practises and knowledge of any communities.

[dezeen]

This gravity-defying staircase in Belgium climbs up into the sky to form an observation tower »

[utdstd]

The River building #sanaa #architecture #archilovers (at Grace Farms, CT)

[utdstd]

Finally had a chance to visit a building designed by one of my favorite architects #edouardfrancois #parisarchitecture #architecture #concretejungle #context (at Hôtel Fouquet's Barrière)

[chicagoarchitecturebiennial]

Optimism in Design: fala atelier’s Modular Social Housing

Portugal’s fala atelier, who are participants in this year’s Chicago Architecture Biennial as well as an Honorable Mention in the Lakefront Kiosk Competition, brings what it calls a “methodic optimism” to projects large and small. Ranging from a birdhouse to temporary installations to renovations and housing projects, fala’s works are characterized by a restrained formal vocabulary and a playful mix of colors and materials. They might mix references from the ultra-minimal to the postmodern, but there is nothing conflicting about the studio’s designs. In a quest to seek a new identity for the ‘Alvenaria’ neighbourhood in Lisbon, Portugal, fala developed a social housing proposal that seeks to resolve the area’s socioeconomic disparities. The concept utilizes cubic modules measuring 2.55m, with variations and multiples that allow for future expansion. The exterior implements a prefabricated metal structure, with a white facade acting as a backdrop for communal activities. Inside, each resident would define their own micro-interior configuration, with balconies that extend over the street and small cultivation spaces that add contrast and color to the surrounding landscape.

[chicagoarchitecturebiennial]

Csutoras & Liando Revive the Tradition of Open-Air Cinema in Jakarta

Kineforum Misbar was a temporary open-air cinema built as part of the 2013 Jakarta Biennale, an international contemporary art event held in the Indonesian capital. It was the result of a collaboration between architects Csutoras & Liando and Kineforum, a non-profit organization that runs the only cinema in Jakarta dedicated to international and local art-house and independent movies. The project was driven by a social-cultural agenda: its main objectives were to promote Indonesian films and to create a venue where people of all backgrounds could watch movies for free. The project was named Kineforum Misbar in reference to the inexpensive, traditional Indonesian open-air cinemas, which are now almost extinct in Jakarta. In addition to the theater itself, the Kineforum Misbar featured a social foyer space, an aspect of cinema that has been disappearing in Jakarta with the growing prevalence of multiplex cinemas. With its canopy of lamps overhead, the foyer became an atmospheric place to meet, have a drink, and hang out. This October, Csutoras & Liando will join over 100 architects, artists, and designers taking part in the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial. 

[chicagoarchitecturebiennial]

The Available City: Making Use of Chicago’s 15,000 Vacant Lots

David Brown, associate director and associate professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s School of Architecture, explores approaches to urban design made possible through the introduction of shifts in the organizational logics that impact metropolitan development. His project, The Available City, was presented alongside large-scale proposals by four other Chicago-based firms at the Venice Biennale in “Team Chicago: City Works,” curated by Alexander Eisenschmidt. The Available City speculates on the urban design potential of Chicago’s fifteen thousand city-owned vacant lots. In its efforts to return the land to utilization, the city of Chicago principally considers each lot individually, and as infill. The Available City, however, proposes that this large scatter of lots, whose aggregate acreage exceeds the area of the Loop, can have greater impact on the neighborhoods and wards in which it is located, when considered as a collective set. David Brown will join over 100 architects, artists, and designers presenting work at the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial this October. 

[chicagoarchitecturebiennial]

Reimaging the Chinese Factory: OPEN Architecture Design a Green, Terraced Staff Dorm in Fuzhou

OPEN Architecture, founded by Li Hu and Huang Wenjing, focus on social and environmental problems associated with the unprecedented speed of urban growth in developing countries especially China. “Stepped Courtyards” in Fuzhou, China is a staff dormitory for Net Dragon Company’s new campus, which seeks to break molds by creating a thoughtfully-designed collective living commune. Three inward-facing, semi-autonomous forms are situated to foster a sense of community and take advantage of views and wind conditions. Along with an enclosed central courtyard, landscaped open terraces are shared by residents. Notably, staff are not differentiated by their role in the company, instead sharing the same resources and public spaces.

[utdstd]

New #bjarkeingels rising up #gothamcity #architecture #nyc #nycskyline #blackandwhite (at Boulevard East In West New York, Nj)

[ruralstudio]

Rural Studio Shows You Can Build a Home for $20K

[utdstd]

Discover how Rural Studio at Auburn University is able to create energy-efficient, sustainable homes for $20,000.