blog wunderlust : 18th June 2012

our bodily contact with the edges of space is central to our awareness of ourselves and our spatial location

Tom Porter

Provide Poor With Better-Designed Homes | Brutal buildings: the architecture of Eastern Europe | Interior Awards 2012 finalists | What is the future of the built environment? | Amen: A Pictorial Journey to Historic Churches in Jamaica | An Interactive Journey Through New York's Roofscape Makeover | The Architect as Urban Care Provider | Mirror, Mirror by David Adjaye | Barbadian & Grenadian Architects on show during London 2012 Olympics |


last word: Energy Efficiency and the Proposed Building Code for Jamaica and Wind, Solar…Coconuts: Small Island Developing States Commit to Renewable, Sustainable Energy for All

New Work ::: Council Flats in Sète

© Cécile Septet

Council Flats in Sète, France designed by architects Colboc Franzen Associates. The 3 blocks contain a total of 71 flats at nearly 4,000m² in size and sit on a trapezoidal plot of land. The balconies that run along the exterior of the buildings are wrapped in a continuous galvanized steel brise soleil that offers solar and visual respite. The scheme borrows Corbusian logic raising the blocks on pilotis to provide both parking and an extension of the landscape.

CPH Arena

The winning competition proposal for the Copenhagen Arena designed by 3XN, HKS Architects, Arup, ME Enginners and Planit.

Transparent house

House NA or the "transparent house" - the 900+ ft² residence in Tokyo, Japan by Sou Fujimoto Architects

blog wunderlust : 25th June 2012

Forget the damned motor car and build the cities for lovers and friends.

Lewis Mumford

Vittorio Garatti, School of Ballet, Cuban National Art Schools. [Photo by Adrián Guerra Rey]

Architect Zaha Hadid made dame | Red telephone boxes with a twist | 2012 Sketch Showdown | Pool on a background of Field of Barley | Landscape Architecture? There’s an app for that! | Here's why Google got rid of SketchUp | I'm a city changer | The 9 Best Countries For Architects To Find Work | In Its First Life, an Oil Platform; in Its Next, a Reef? | Iraqi Mud Architect Talks Sustainability and Corruption in the Middle East |

last word: Foster to redesign Fidel Castro’s School of Ballet

new software: OrthoGraph Architect 3D for iPad

House of the Week 145: Manhattan Beach House

This near 3,000 ft² home designed by design-build practice Walker Workshop sits on a tight infill lot on Manhattan Beach. The massing of the house responds to the local zoning, views to San Gabriel Mountains and the programmatic needs of the clients. The exterior finish of cement plaster and cedar siding flow to inside of the central stair and circulation space.

Public Spaces

2 Chainz Feat. Drake ~ No Lie

Open to all students and graduates of design, architecture, art, engineering, camp leaders and schools interested in sustainable architecture and rural community development projects in Africa. TH!NK will be hosting a series of workshops on sustainable construction ranging from rammed earth construction, vaulted roof and natural acoustic design. TH!NK is designed as an art+architecture camp to bring together participants from diverse backgrounds to explore the relationship between art, architecture and community to generate a modern structure using sustainable materials from the environment such as earth, straw, stone, wood, and recycled/reused materials.

The roject is organized by Nka Foundation in collaboration with CCEIR at the University for Development Studies in Tamale and Sang Project Focus Team mobilized through the United Nation Volunteers.

For more information

Design + Build + Sustain

A Jeffrey Durkin directed documentary about building sustainable cities by architect/developer Jonathan Segal. Created for the Mix 9 architecture show on exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art La Jolla, California.

Justin Bieber Feat. Drake ~ Right Here

The Creators Project : Mass Studies

VICE and Intel's art and technology initiative, The Creators Project, recently visited world-famed Korean architecture firm Mass Studies in Seoul to speak to the company's founder Minsuk Cho about Mass Studies' vision and ultimate goal of shaping communities through space and time.

[by] Hand

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

Trailer on China's most celebrated contemporary artist, Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry by first-time director Alison Klayman

FCAA Biennal and Congress

(c)Hugh Walker

The Federation of Caribbean Associations of Architects (FCAA) 2012 Biennal and Congress will be held in Bridgetown Barbados from September 27th until 30th. More information regarding registration to follow.

House of the Week 144: Prospect

This private residence and studio is located on a triangular 7,200 ft² site in La Jolla, California and was designed by architect and developer Jonathan Segal for himself and his family. The ground level has large glazed openings that allow the interior of the house to freely flow to the manicured landscape. The volume of the upper floor is a large stucco box with Corten steel details and has minimal fenestration, some with deep recesses, to restrict views from the outside in. The house is fully divorced from the grid with electricity provided by an array of solar panels mounted on the roof of the house.