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Tech NewsThe Amazing Architectural Evolution of the Filling Station
Gas stations might be boring or even ugly places, but for the most part, you can’t avoid stopping by one on a long trip. However, they have been so many more beyond the basic design of columns, roof and shop over their history. The following 60+1 filling stations encompass almost a century of architectural progression, … Continued
By Attila Nagy -
Tech NewsDesign
This House Is Made From Cardboard
Welcome to the Wikkelhouse, a building that’s made not from concrete, brick or wood—but cardboard. The building is made from a series of modular pieces that stack next to each other like the slices of a loaf of bread. In profile it looks like the kind of stereotypical house a child might draw on paper, … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
Famous New York Buildings Make Way More Sense on These Alien Landscapes
Sometime in the near future, eleven of New York City’s most famous landmarks have gone missing. Soon, they start to turn up in the some of the most desolate locations on the planet—perched high in a red rock mountain range, buried in a white sand desert—but no one knows why. That’s the concept behind Misplaced, … Continued
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Tech NewsSploidThese Bus Stops Left Over From the Soviet Union Are So Wonderfully Bizarre
The Soviet Union. The USSR. The Iron Curtain. The Eastern Bloc. Lenin. Stalin. The Communist Party. The KGB. The Cold War. And awesomely designed bus stops? Apparently and bizarrely and awesomely, that’s one of the legacies of the Soviet Union. Photographer Christopher Herwig’s excellent photo book Soviet Bus Stops documents the design of local bus … Continued
By Casey Chan -
Tech NewsDesignBuckminster Fuller’s Biosphere Dome Might Get a Twin Made From Plants
Montreal’s Expo 67 was the most successful World’s Fair in history, a vision of the future laced with monorails and space-age architecture. Its stunning centerpiece was the Biosphere, a 250-foot tall geodesic dome designed by Buckminster Fuller, which remained on the site after the fair left town. For the 50th anniversary of the Expo, one … Continued
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Tech News
This Autonomous Garden Would Roll Its Way to the Perfect Plot
If you lack the skills to keep plants alive, this architectural concept might appeal. Called Hortum Machina B, the sphere contains electronics that enable it to sense its surroundings and move in order to keep its internal garden healthy. The concept is the brainchild of William Victor Camilleri and Danilo Sampaio from the Bartlett School … Continued
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Tech News
Brooklyn Is Actually Going to Build This Awesome Megascraper
Can we pause for just a minute to commend the fine people of Brooklyn for approving such a good-looking building as the new tallest structure in their fair borough? Truth be told, I did not think this day would come. I even said as much when plans for this skyscraper were first announced. I didn’t … Continued
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Tech News
The Australian Nanoscience Institute Puts Every Experiment Inside a Faraday Cage
Nanotechnology researchers at the University of Sydney now have a building that will make them the envy of the scientific community—with ultra-clean rooms, vibration-free floors and faraday cages aplenty. New Scientist calls the new Australian Institute for Nanoscale Science “one of the most controlled places on the planet.” And it might just be right, because … Continued
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Tech News
Can You Guess How Much NYC Paid the Architect of the Most Expensive Train Station on Earth?
The World Trade Center Transit Hub—aka The (other) Oculus—has already gone down in history as the most expensive train station, ever. The grand total was $4 billion, about twice what it was supposed to cost, and more than the skyscraper adjacent to it. But there might be another record-breaking figure associated with this project. I … Continued
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io9
These Photos of Belgrade’s Socialist Architecture Look Like Ancient Spaceships
Commercial photographer Mirko Nahmijas has been taking photos of the mid-20th century Brutalist architecture in Belgrade, Serbia. And these buildings look like long-abandoned crashed spaceships or relics from a forgotten future. On the “Minimal Belgrade” website, Nahmijas explains what’s so striking about these buildings: “Often called Socialist Modernism, Soc-realism, Brutalism, Architecture of forced standard, etc., … Continued
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Tech News
Data Centers of the Future Could Be Towering Skyscrapers
Data centers are usually vast, cavernous warehouse-like spaces rammed full of computers and cooling systems. But a pair of Italian architects has imagined a sustainable alternative that would meld server farms with skyscrapers. Marco Merletti and Valeria Mercuri have sketched out a vision for what they call the Data Tower. And if the name doesn’t … Continued
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Tech NewsCarbon Fiber Noodles Could Save a Building From an Earthquake
Seismic retrofitting is a major endeavor that requires bracing and bolting an older building to its foundation so it doesn’t shake apart in an earthquake. But depending on a building’s age and what materials it’s made of, a traditional retrofit has the potential to destroy a structure in a different way—aesthetically. A Japanese company believes … Continued
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EartherClimate Change
This Is the Most Sustainable Office in the World
It might not look particularly groundbreaking, with its full-length windows and timber cladding. But this is, according to industry standards, the most sustainable office in the world. That’s according to the rating it scored on the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREAAM) certification scheme, which is—more or less—considered to be the gold standard in … Continued
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Tech NewsDesignI Can’t Believe All the Features Mashed Into This Micro-Apartment
The phrase “micro-unit” conjures up all sorts of lifestyle tradeoffs, like Murphy beds, mini-fridges, and toilets in the shower. This tasteful space has a bed that stays put, a full-sized kitchen, and room for a bathtub (!), all in an area that’s a little over 300 square feet. LAAB Architects designed the “Small Home Smart … Continued
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Tech News
This Could Be London’s First Wooden Skyscraper
Over the past few years, wood has emerged as an unlikely yet desirable material for the design of future skyscrapers. This is what London’s first tall timber structure could look like. The design has been put together by PLP Architecture and Cambridge University’s Department of Architecture, together with engineers at Smith and Wallwork. The proposed … Continued
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EartherClimate Change
A New Florida Pier Is Designed to Face the Reality of Rising Seas
There’s no polite way to put this: Florida is screwed. And we’re starting to see the state’s infrastructure adapt to the reality of climate change. A new pier for St. Petersburg just been approved by the city that takes changing ocean conditions into consideration. This includes a lightweight structure that can float on rising seas … Continued
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Tech News
One of the World’s Top Architects Is Giving Away His Most Famous Designs for Free
Earlier this year the Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena was named the winner of the Pritzker Prize, the top honor in the field, in recognition of his revolutionary affordable housing projects. This week, Aravena made the designs for four of those structures open-source, in a move that could help cities everywhere with their housing troubles. Aravena’s … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
12 Perfect New Tenants For Ohio’s Building That Looks Like a Basket
Those planning a road trip to see the Newark, Ohio headquarters of the famous Longaberger company might be disappointed. The company is downsizing and abandoning its famous basket-shaped HQ. Not to worry. We have 12 great ideas for who should move in next. Last week I issued a call to save this basket from certain … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
This Super-Efficient Building High in the Rocky Mountains Has No Central Heat
The quest to build the world’s most energy-efficient buildings largely plays out in temperate regions or in big, heat-generating cities. That’s what makes this new building in Colorado so impressive: It’s located at high elevation in a location that gets about 90 inches of snow per year—yet, amazingly, it uses no central heating at all. … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
Photoshop Contest: Who Should Be the New Owners of the Country’s Only Basket-Building?
Life’s a picnic, or at least that’s what Ohio basket manufacturer Longaberger believed when it custom-built this headquarters for the company in the shape of its “Medium Market Basket.” Now the picnic’s over: The business is moving out, and the building is in danger of foreclosure. Completed in 1999, the Longaberger basket is not only … Continued