design:related - jcestnik's inspirations

artintimity

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:24:05 GMT

A new collaborative photo blog dedicated to the expression of thought... while sitting alone on the toilet.

But why? Well, it's one of the few places where people are really alone with some time to think...

I never considered the loo as a place to sketch a design... but hey, to each their own.

Shenzhen Stock Exchange

Sat, 17 May 2008 13:50:21 GMT

I love it when architecture makes me laugh in a "haha! That's cool!" way...

The stock tickers on the underside of the the canopy are brilliant and speak to the future of economic design in our urban cores.

"For millennia the solid building has stood on a solid base which anchors the structure and connects it emphatically to the ground. In the SSE building the traditional base is lifted up the tower to become a floating platform to broadcast the economic information of the virtual market and in turn liberate the space on the ground for public space and events."

element house

Tue, 13 May 2008 20:57:51 GMT

A stunning exploration in materiality, light, and darkness.

"This architectural structure, situated in a river valley marking an edge of a forest park and the Seoul metropolitan area, is made to offer a shelter and an experience for all senses to the people on their way to nature or returning back to city."

James Howard Kunstler

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:50:43 GMT

James Howard Kunstler scares the crap out of me.

That being said, James Howard Kunstler also is one of the best authors I have ever read. He’s a captivating, clever, and obviously an ardent voice that has become noted for foreshadowing the impending doom we will face surrounding converging economic and ecological trends that many of us simply choose to ignore.

Author of “The Long Emergency”, “The Biography of Nowhere”, and “Going Local” (to name just a few) Kunstler’s works generally revolve around the concept of peak oil. Basically, the party’s over… the suburban American lifestyles the majority of us are part of cannot continue, and it’s time to make some changes so we don’t face disaster in the upcoming years. The scary thing, he writes, is that:

“Localism and green economic practices will be taken up more broadly and earnestly only when we don’t have a choice about it and can no longer manage our bad old ways.”

So because I’m in “the know” I feel like I should shove these narratives at anyone who will listen. Sure they’re extreme, but in our society it’s the scare tactics that work best.

Photo from Kunstler Online

My crawl space

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 02:38:33 GMT

It's amazing how the most bizarre things can reenergize creative types sometime – we all have our odd quirks right?

With an ill-timed plumbing project intruding on my final project deadlines I found myself in our house’s crawl space looking for the main water shut off valve. While down there I discovered that our foundation was largely in part constructed of the original World War Two workforce housing that sat on our property until 1950. I have always wondered what happened to the original buildings… now I know.

I love making unexpected discoveries like this… they always manage to rejuvenate my passion for the profession and the connection to architecture of the past that directly impacts the design of today.

Philharmonie Luxembourg

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 00:57:24 GMT

Christian de Portzamparc is quickly becoming one my favorite designers, and this auditorium complex is the key reason why. It's a stunningly simple design of a large concert hall 'shoebox' cut open and surrounded by public and support spaces. I wish I could design with color and light this way, it becomes part of the building, rather than an afterthought.

PIG CITY

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 16:29:38 GMT

Pork turns out to be the most consumed form of meat for folks in the Netherlands and given such a high demand for production coupled with concerns of disease, the industry is presented with a couple of options to sustain productivity. Either everyone goes vegetarian overnight or we change the production techniques... and given the unlikelihood of an increase in veggies, a new method for biological farming becomes necessary. So if the trend is to go towards a healthier organic farming, 75% of the land in the Netherlands would have to be dedicated to pigs... an unreasonable demand. Pig City is the idea of combining organic feed farming and meat production in a vertical tower element. [hit the link for some renderings...] By condensing the footprint and limiting the need for transport, the possibility of disease is reduced. My question is, do the pigs that have the penthouse views take a higher price per cut?

Sendai Mediatheque

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 16:02:04 GMT

Designed by Toyo Ito and completed in 2001, this new typology is described as: "A civic facility aimed at promoting arts and culture and lifelong learning, not by present standards of service, but by supporting participatory, self-expressive activities." That is, not a specific building type but a system of spaces designed to meet varying programmatic needs (which remains flexible even after the construction process). The architectural elements that make up the building are: plates (the floors), tubes (the columns), and skin (the facade and walls). The tubes serve as vertical circulation, passageways for ductwork and conduits, exhaust and air supply, and skylights to let light into lower levels. I think this building works because tectonically, there isn't much going on, which allows for endless possibilities inside, all while remaining integrated with the surrounding urban environment.

Thermal Tiles

Fri, 03 Aug 2007 03:24:35 GMT

It's the type of thing that makes you go "hmmm". Remember the hypercolor shirts and fabric that changed color with heat? This is the same idea, but for use in a number of built situations. While the shower application would be pretty neat to see, I imagine other uses may be gross. (subway station?)

idea store

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 16:45:32 GMT

A brilliant concept in modern library design (if one can solely classify it as such) in London is known as the "Idea Store". It's basically the process of taking the design typologies of the library, café, community center, and university… throwing them all into a blender… and pressing frappe. Or as they put it "…an ideal place to browse and borrow books, read a newspaper or magazine, learn new skills, surf the net or to relax and meet friends over a coffee in a fun and stimulating environment." While some 21st Century libraries are gaining environments similar to this ie: Rem Koolhaas and the Seattle Central Library, this concept goes beyond the architecture itself and dives into the successful use of social space. I certainly hope this will appear in US cities soon. (photo credit: architecture.com)