-
io9
Strange Architecture Of The Tito And Ceausescu Regime
Your definitive guide to some of the most unusual structures Romania has to offer. Palace of the Parliament, 1984-1990, Bucharest, Romania The world’s largest and heaviest civilian building with its 270m by 240m (885 by 787 ft) size, 84 m (275 ft) height and 1100 rooms. It was designed by Anca Petrescu and a group … Continued
-
Tech NewsDesign
Most Beautiful Items: March 23-29, 2013
Between unbelievable balloon art, a scaly aluminum aquarium, and a Google Image Search art project, we have beaucoup beautiful things to show you this week. Take a second to gander at the gorgeous things we found in art, architecture, and design this week. Of Course This Stunning Building Is an Aquarium https://gizmodo.com/of-course-this-stunning-building-is-an-aquarium-5992422 Blue Planet Aquarium … Continued
By Leslie Horn -
Tech NewsDesign
If All Embassies Looked Like This There Wouldn’t Be Any Wars
Believe it or not, this is the Dutch Embassy in Ethiopia. It doesn’t look like your average bureaucratic building, but perhaps more government agencies should take cues from not just its unusual aesthetic, but how the architects—Dick van Gameren and Bjarne Mastenbroek—drew influence from two different cultures. For example, the rough texture of the walls … Continued
By Leslie Horn -
Tech NewsDesign
The Rio Bonito House Fully Lives Up To Its Name
The The Rio Bonito House is set in a lush mountainous area in eastern Rio De Janeiro. It looks the the perfectly pleasant weekend getaway, but more than that, the design is notable because of the balance of both delicate and strong materials. Two thick stone walls punctured by four steel beams buoy the floating … Continued
By Leslie Horn -
Tech NewsDesign
This Giant Mesh Wall Acts Like an Air Filter for Mexico City
The best way to deal with smog is to make less of it, but it’s too late to just do that. And when it comes to cleaning up your already polluted air, mesh structures like this one in Mexico City are a stylish way to filter a whole city’s worth of air. This porous wall … Continued
By Eric Limer -
Tech NewsDesign
A New French Skyscraper That Stretches to the Sky
When you gaze at architecture firm Zaha Hadid‘s new tower, you imagine two jazz hands raising up to the sky as high as they stretch. Located in Marseille, the skyscraper is the headquarters of French shipping and container company CMA CGM. It’s nearly 500 feet tall, and although the upward reaching form is the most … Continued
By Leslie Horn -
Tech NewsDesign
This Swiss Apartment Complex Doubles as a Secret Snow Fortress
You might be a little confused because this looks strikingly similar to the snow fortress in Inception. But no need to watch out for skiing dream assassins—it’s an apartment complex in Lausanne, Switzerland. (As far as we know). The sharp corners at either end are not design features meant to intimidate intruders. In fact they’re … Continued
By Leslie Horn -
Tech NewsDesign
Greatest Dad Ever Creates a Calvin & Hobbes Nursery Complete with Tree Fort
Here’s a father that will make your heart melt in aww and a nursery that’ll make you want to go back to being a kid again. Screw real life, I want to grow up again with Calvin and Hobbes. Heck, I don’t care if I can even fit on the bed… I want to live … Continued
By Casey Chan -
Tech NewsDesign
Vertical Louvers Let the Light Dance In This Modern Home
Louvers are shutter-like fins that can permit or prevent light and air from entering a space. In this Japanese home, the giant white pieces let shadows dance differently around the house, depending on the time of day. The big white facade curves along the shape of the road running beside it, and between each louver … Continued
By Leslie Horn -
Tech News
Crazy Guy Dangles Above the Earth at Terrifying Heights
“Mustang Wanted” is a crazy Ukrainian guy who loves having his photo taken as he dangles from buildings at preposterous heights. The resulting images will stop your heart. At first you wonder what compels somebody to want climb to these high places without any safety restraints. Just to show off? Is this just bizarre exhibitionism? … Continued
-
Tech NewsDesign
Of Course This Stunning Building Is an Aquarium
Blue Planet Aquarium is the most aquarium-like aquarium you’ve ever seen. Cloaked in aluminum shingles that evoke fish scales, it’s shaped like an ocean wave. Located on a waterfront in Copenhagen, Blue Planet just recently opened up to the public. It’s now the largest aquarium in Europe, housing more than 450 species of fish and … Continued
By Leslie Horn -
Tech News
We All Want To Live In Monaco’s Odeon Tower, But We’re All Too Poor
Holy crap, look at the Odeon Tower, a slick new skyscraper in Monaco set to be completed in summer 2014. But good luck affording a unit—the place is expected to be the most expensive building per square meter in the world. Dreamed up by architect Alexander Giraldi in a style inspired by belle epoque design … Continued
By Leslie Horn -
Tech NewsDesign
Catch Some Shade Under This Illusive Flying House Sculpture
An empty lot is a great place to build a house, but so is the air above it. And this summer, Flint, Michigan is going to get some floating real estate. Named after a fictitious Flint resident who lost his house to foreclosure, “Mark’s House” was designed by London architectural and design team “Two Islands” … Continued
By Eric Limer -
Tech News
Can We Please Stop Drawing Trees on Top of Skyscrapers?
Just a couple of years ago, if you wanted to make something look trendier, you put a bird on it. Birds were everywhere. I’m not sure if Twitter was what started all the flutter, but it got so bad that Portlandia performed a skit named, you guessed it, “Put a Bird On It“. It turns … Continued
Tim De Chant - Per Square Mile -
Tech NewsDesign
The Best Architecture Designs of the Year
The Design Museum of London has just announced the contenders for its sixth annual Designs of the Year. And their shortlist for architecture showcases 17 structures that transcend buildings to become works of art. A Room For London, (Southbank Centre), UK: Perched above Queen Elizabeth Hall at London’s Southbank Centre, the boat-shaped, one-bedroom installation offers … Continued
By Attila Nagy -
Tech NewsDesign
The Skyward House Lives Up to Its Name
The aptly named Skyward House is relatively secluded from some angles. But it actually faces a pretty well-trafficked road, so the architect had to design it with features that make it feel private. For example, it’s lifted up high on the hill to avoid view from the road. It has windows that can be opened … Continued
By Leslie Horn -
Tech NewsDesign
Most Beautiful Items: March 16-22, 2013
You get to the end of the week and your eyeballs are just about ready to fall out of your head. Don’t let that happen. Here’s a little restorative reprieve in the form of the most beautiful things we found this week. Iceberg Ahead! Oh Wait, That’s an Apartment Building https://gizmodo.com/iceberg-ahead-oh-wait-thats-an-apartment-building-5991882 You know what trumps … Continued
By Leslie Horn -
Tech NewsDesign
This Giant, Twisting Garden of a Tower Mimics Our Own DNA
A marriage of microbiology and vertical gardening, Taipei’s currently-under-construction Agora Garden will be a twisting, blossoming double helix amplified to massive proportion. Designed by Vincent Callebaut Architecte, the residential tower will utilize its rising jungle both in terms of aesthetics and sustainability. In fact, this building will supposedly be one of the most eco-friendly in … Continued
-
Tech NewsDesign
Iceberg Ahead! Oh Wait, That’s an Apartment Building
You know what trumps boring loft building after boring loft building after boring loft building? An apartment complex that looks like a giant iceberg, like this one in Aarhus, Denmark. Designed by JDS Architects, Cebra, SeARCH and Louis Paillard, the residences are a collection of angular, white structures with pointy roofs and geometric windows. It … Continued
By Leslie Horn -
io9
The Fading Grandeur of Abandoned Soviet Space Facilities
The Soviet Union launched Sputnik and gave the United States a run for its money in the Space Race. But after the U.S.S.R. went under, all of its brilliant Space Age facilities were left to crumble. Looking at the ruins is like gazing at a fallen space empire. A factory of the NPO Energomash VP … Continued