Great Spaces

Love is in the air

2012-02-14T16:20:00.003-05:00

Times Square Valentine A BIG red heart pulses with glowing rods which jolts the city. More

Together, BIG + Times Square Alliance + Flatcut + Local Projects and Zumtobel celebrates Valentines Day with a BIG red pulsating heart in the middle of Times Square, New York. The 10-foot-tall heart pulsates as the 400 transparent, LED lit, acrylic tubes sway in the wind. Once people touch the heart-shaped sensor, the light grows brighter and the pulse beats faster. Joining hands with more people will increase the intensity of the heart.

“The heart reflects what Times Square is made of: people and light – the more people, the stronger the light,” Bjarke Ingels, Founder & Partner, BIG.

See the love with the video above and more images after the break.

As seen on Archdaily.

See more pics.

Ann Arbor

2012-02-08T13:18:00.001-05:00

Ann Arbor District Library (AADL) Since 2002 the architects would replace a 4000 sq.ft. branch library within an existing strip mall. More

The bark has been stripped from these log columns exposing the randomized grooves and carvings left by the EAB larvae - creating, what is in essences, a visual and tactile testament to the life and destruction of the Ash tree in Michigan and surrounding area, allowing generations to be exposed to an autopsy report of an extinct species in the region.

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Department store as part of a new era

2012-02-07T16:08:00.001-05:00

Rebranding at best Liverpool's history goes deep but in the company’s pursuit for re-branding itself, history takes shape. More

Located in the northern part of Mexico City, this new suburb is characterized by a lack of open public space and congested filled roads on which pedestrians are not welcomed. The new facade responds to a fast pace of the everyday life in this isolated suburb, sitting in the middle of a very congested super highway which give you a “Blade Runner-like” feel. To resolve this Rojkind Architects devised a scheme, fluid, smooth and fabric like to contrast the hectic energy of the super highway and all that it gives!

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Roll It

2012-02-02T17:41:00.003-05:00

Experimental Housing at best There’s a bed and table in section, an exercise cylinder, and a kitchen with a sink. More

A funky experimental house, which was the outcome of a collaboration among different uni's within the University of Karlsruhe. We just had to share it. This cylindrical design is a modular prototype that provides flexible space within a minimum housing unit. So that means it's a cool round design which can mass produced like the great Ford "T-model" that broke numbers in America. As three parts are dedicated to needs: there’s a bed and table in section, an exercise cylinder, and a kitchen with a sink. What more can you ask for besides more space?

As seen on Archdaily.

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In the Netherlands

2012-02-01T16:42:00.002-05:00

Emulates cliffs and cascades Very nice to see this level of creativity in such a large housing structure and complex More

Yesterday a Buddhist building and today a leafy patterned cascading building in the Netherlands, is there anything else these architects wont take on?

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Buddhist approach

2012-01-31T14:12:00.002-05:00

Panyaden is a private bilingual school with a Buddhist approach Uuuummmm More

AT LAST! Something that's not a box or an explosion of right angles. This is how we used to build! We blame modernism, the dutch and the t-square.Thai and native English speaking teachers are blessed with the design environmentally friendly school. 24H > architects, yes 24 has devised a traditional place which is based on organic architecture.

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Thesis Effect

2012-01-30T10:51:00.006-05:00

Does this photo remind you of your student days? Best comment will get a surprise from Great Spaces this February 1st. More

We've came up with a caption contest on the BIG WALL of Great Spaces. Sounds like it has a ring to it right? If you write on the wall underneath the photo in captions via facebook as we will pick the best comment, we'll be announcing the winner on February first!

By the way don't forget to check out: Design Studio: Top 10 things you should know...

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Less is more

2012-01-27T14:20:00.002-05:00

Minimum House by SKA Architekten This love affair with the coined term "Less is more" should never end - it's comfortable and aesthetically pleasing... More

The concept was made for the house to have outdoor elements and also by making full use of solar panels for the building. The reflections of glass and light make the three-side glassed building shells appear not inter-connected to the scheme by http://www.ska-architekten.de/

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BIG "8"

2012-01-26T14:31:00.003-05:00

8 House by BIG Architects who are taking there video game to the next level with architectural demonstration More

Well like the saying goes, action speaks louder then words. Check the video after the jump.

See photos on the Great Spaces album.

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Featured Great Spaces Video

2012-01-26T01:53:00.004-05:00

New Museum and Lady Gaga (Series 1, episode 4) Letting Isaac loose in the New Museum, maybe a good idea. He compares it to Lady Gaga...might be onto something here. Watch full video

Letting Isaac loose in the New Museum, maybe a good idea. He compares it to Lady Gaga...might be onto something here.

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Woody situation

2012-01-25T15:50:00.002-05:00

Terry and Terry hit the wood It’s unlikely you don't like a house made from wood species, so here is another project in wood More

Unless you have some form of refractive error that has significantly reduced your visual acuity, you can clearly see this is a wooden House......it's in Menlo Park. And now, having seen it, you may well develop said refractive error.

It was first unveiled last year by Terry and Terry Architects, where Houses proudly trumpeted its wares alongside newly built public buildings. Naturally, ‘new' here is a liberal interpretation; they are of course, ‘standard' (can any wooden house be ‘standard'?) Bal House liveried in tasty colors. This brown baby has been built for a year now and just gone on display at the Great Spaces facebook wall, and we've got some real-life pics.

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“As a model for society”

2012-01-24T15:14:00.003-05:00

Virtual passport to Italy …in limited time. Get your passports out Internet, the Italy is coming. Read more

Good news! Park Associates has devised a restaurant, a cabin, a nest egg on a public building with amazing views in a beautiful place, Italy. The idea is then to keep it open for six months and then relocated it to a glorious location for your viewing pleasure and licking of the chops. For every relocation clients and spaces-goers get a new feel, a new menu and most importantly a new experience.

See more pics here.

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California Love

2012-01-23T15:06:00.003-05:00

Dream House with Alan Voo House and Neil M. Denari Architects. Read on

Neil M. Denari Architects have shown some California love with this very chill house. The pictures of it is below, it's been completed in 2007. It runs about three quarters of a million, which is not bad.

Do you like it? Well, I do. Multi-toned, bright colors accentuate the new pieces like a new pair of trainers you may see Kobe Bryant wear in a NBA game on Christmas day which suggest a graphic expression representative of the family’s interests. Alright, well not that colorful.

See more photos here.

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Twitter Space

2012-01-20T19:51:00.001-05:00

We've been on twitter for a little while. Beaten down by the waves of people obsessed with telling each other what they are doing in unnecessarily short sentences, Great Spaces has joined Twitter.

Like all the best guests, we're a little late to the party, but we've been working our Tweet game for a while - to the 1,000 of you who have noticed, thanks.

New Museum x SANAA

2011-12-23T13:49:00.002-05:00

A sneak peek of our holiday episode

Our 3-4 minute epic in Lower East Side is nearly here – check out some exclusive pics...

Citizens of New York, no need to step out of your economic fallout shelters every episode is free. Free videos, no ads and no hidden fees.

In the latest episode we decided to change things up a bit. Delaine Isaac compares the New Museum (2010's Pritzker award winning SANAA) to Lady Gaga. You can see what happens this holiday.

But before that, have a sneak peek at some pictures...

104 years of Oscar Niemeyer, happy birthday!

2011-12-15T16:34:00.008-05:00

Oscar turns over a century plus four

Read on...

Happy 104 years to Oscar Niemeyer! Wow. No retirement plan for this Brazil native because he still works on the office. It’s time to start pinching our pennies so we can make it to Brazil to get him on the show. This has to happen next year!

Life is very fleeting. It’s important to be gentle and optimistic. We look behind and think what we’ve done in this life has been good. It was simple; it was modest. Everyone creates their own story and moves on. That’s it. I don’t feel particularly important. What we create is not important. We’re very insignificant.

- Oscar Niemeyer

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Design Crooner

2011-12-15T12:39:00.002-05:00

Isaac/ Associates

Architect, executive producer, entrepreneur and presenter Delaine Isaac has announced that they will be releasing their next project for the 'Evolo skyscraper 2012 competition' using alternative methods.

Read on...

The long-delayed design project, which was initially scheduled for this year's release, was pushed back indefinitely, when Isaac declared via various social media outlets that the new series "Great Spaces" is launching.

However, Isaac has since partnered with talent from Hyper Island to provide creative direction and unveiling for his upcoming "visual project" in the submission for the 'Evolo Skyscraper 2012' which will be released with different ways of approaching the project at a time over the next year. According to Isaac, each visual is introduced in three parts, the first being a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the studio session and the other a story "3D/4D animation, and an exhibition showcasing the flair for the project's stories of inception and discovery."

While we're not entirely sure what all of this means, Isaac appears to be releasing the project some time in 2012. He launched his visual campaign with the video for 'Great Spaces' two weeks ago, a smoked out and modern video shot against the backdrop of the Wall Street, accompanying Isaac's witty but interesting presentation. Check that out below.

For more information, visit Delaine Isaac's site http://www.delaineisaac.blogspot.com/.

Timmelsjoch

2011-12-13T13:58:00.001-05:00

Cantilevering at best in another site
The Timmelsjoch is the deepest, non-glaciated indentation in the main Alpine ridge between the Reschen Pass and the Brenner Pass. - via Architizer

See how people responded on Tumblr.

Ice Cube. LA. Eames. Architecture.

2011-12-08T13:10:00.004-05:00

Ice Cube talks about architecture, Eames chairs and living in L.A. This is a bioeffect of a nice film one day on the GS.

Read on and watch the film...

Ice Cube celebrates the Eames for Pacific Standard Time the birth of the LA art scene. Another celebrity added to our wish list for our star in a great space segment for season two. Let's not get ahead of ourselves but it's positive thinking. It's also nice to see architect Paul William's Theme Building at Los Angeles International Airport at 21 seconds in black and white. As Ice would say, "dope!"

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A BIG wave

2011-12-06T14:51:00.000-05:00

A BIG wave for the future. GS eyes are all over this pier. BIG Architects entered St. Petersburg competition and blew it out of the waters,...literally.

For more photos...

Whatever you think you might know about rendering, chances are you'll be wrong. While architectural renderings have been around for many centuries, computer-generated 3d architectural renderings is a relatively new field still in its infancy. If you do an internet search for 'architectural renderings', you could easily pull up a hundred thousand results on the topic. The sheer number of results can be overwhelming. In this proposal, created by Danish firm BIG, it's an iconic pier structure which will gradually flow into waters of Tampa Bay. The program includes a park, museum, observation deck, playgrounds and natural forested areas.

Like the old saying, action speaks louder then words so check out the project yourself:

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Amsterdam Pavilion - UNStudio

2011-12-05T21:38:00.007-05:00

Red lights but no drugs or booze.
This summer we had the pleasure of visiting a Pavilion or gift from the Dutch and we must say, "my oh my what a gift!"

For more photos...

The Amsterdam Pavilion, designed by UN Studio, is nice little piece of architecture calling lower Manhattan home. This is the first in a series of short videos from Great Spaces - highlighting interesting architecture in the New York City area. - via Talkitect

The Amsterdam Pavilion was commissioned by the Battery Conservancy, is a gift from the Netherlands to New York in honor of 400 years of friendship. It was unveiled to public in September 2009, if you’ve never visited the building, let’s take a close look on this project. - via Plusmood

First episode of Great Spaces. - via e-architect.co.uk

Photos by @00yoyo

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Amazing icon for the people of Brazil

2011-12-04T23:25:00.009-05:00

First of all… INCREDIBLE. Lick your chops while looking at these images as we take a second to catch our breath here.

Christ the Redeemer is a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Considered the largest Art Deco statue in the world and the 5th largest statue of Jesus in the world. It is (130 ft) tall, including its (31 ft) pedestal, and (98 ft) wide. Sheesh.

For more photos...

Approximate heights of various notable statues:

1. Spring Temple Buddha 153 m

2. Statue of Liberty 93 m

3. The Motherland Calls 91 m

4. Christ the Redeemer 39.6 m

5. Statue of David 5.17 m (sculpture 5.17 m + plinth = approximately 7.7 m)

Christ the Redeemer is featured in various works of fiction and media. The statue was featured in a major destruction scene in the movie 2012, when its arms collapse, and the rest of the statue fails at the knees and crumbles as it collides with the side of the mountain. This scene was highly controversial, especially when it was featured in a billboard campaign in Los Angeles, when Brazilian Multimedia Designer Sara Vieira spoke out against it. Photos by wikipedia.org.

A symbol of Brazilian Christianity, the statue has become an icon for Rio de Janeiro and Brazil. It is made of reinforced concrete and soapstone, and was constructed between 1922 and 1931.

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Tumblr Radar: Alternative Car Park Tower x Mozha Studio

2011-12-01T16:07:00.001-05:00

A car park and tower in Hong Kong: Mozha Studio shared with the world the 1st prize winning proposal for an alternative car park tower. People went nuts over this design, and we can't image how long it would take to drive your car up to the top and eventually end at the bottom. This should be in the Guinness book of records maybe? Oh and yes over 10k folks enjoyed this project..see why, photos after the jump.

What Ikea and the Stonehenge have in common through infographic

2011-11-28T16:20:00.003-05:00

The 'henj' infographic by British writer: Justin Pollard was designed with input from creatives Stevyn Colgan and John Lloyd to offer ikea-style instructions for the construction of stonehenge. See how it was...diagrammed.

Design Studio: Top 10 things you should know...

2011-11-28T02:53:00.005-05:00

Top tips for architecture students. What you should know in the program...more tips 2-10.

1. All-nighters are not a requirement
Architecture students are terrible at managing their time. While part of the design process is the vetting that goes on between students, rarely do architecture students show up, put their heads down, and get to work in a methodical productive manner. There is a lot of competition and gamesmanship that goes on but if you manage your time like the studio was your job, all-nighters simply wouldn’t happen. I see all the time that when older people go back for an architecture degree or a masters – people who have been out in the work place or have other “grown-up” responsibilities, they never pull all-nighters. They don’t have to because when they are at the studio for 8 hours, they get 8 hours of work done. It’s the guy sleeping in the lounge during structures class whose desk is littered Starbucks cups that pulls all nighters. This person will also brag about pulling an all-nighter – as a “grown-up”, this makes me chuckle.

2. Last minute changes do more harm than good
It’s always hard to stop designing, especially in school, but at some point the goal is to present the concept and the drawings and models to support your ideas. If you were to think of this process as if you were presenting to a client and work backward from a deadline, you will have far less negative work. If you determine that it is going to take you 4 days to build your model out of basswood and 2 days to render the drawings, leave yourself the appropriate amount of time and stop creating original work. If you have all these great ideas and no method to effectively communicate them who cares? (I don’t)

3. A bad presentation during your review will not sink your grade
If things are still the same, people get really worked up and more than a little stressed out when the time comes to pin your work up on the wall and get reviewed. The good news should be that your professor, the person who will actually be giving you your grade, knows all about your project and how much time and effort you’ve put in. As a result, you should be less concerned about the guest professors/ reviewers who don’t know anything about your work, have 10 minutes to “get it” and then offer some meaningful insight. More times than not, those professors have their own pet project or something that they are into and their comments are simply a narcissistic way to make your project about them. Your project could be a multi-disciplinary research housing station on the dark side of the moon and the “sustainable” professor will find some way to ask you about rainwater harvesting. (think about it – I’m not making a joke, you know that could totally happen). Same thing happens to the person who can render really, really well. Their presentation will look amazing and the guest reviewers will go on and on about great this project is and how feeble the previous one was, this person’s on a entirely different level, etc. etc. … But everyone in the class (including the professor) knows that this project doesn’t work, despite looking as great as it does. Everyone is influenced by snazzy graphics – but unless this is a rendering class, you professor will know who did what and where the value lies.

4. Your portfolio has a 3 year lifespan (max)
Yes, your portfolio is important and you will use it at various points during school and your early career to leverage it into something you want. Just realized that at some point in the early future, you will be embarrassed that you thought your work was so great when it clearly sucks. Your portfolio will find a home in some closet with other items of diminishing importance because you will discover that the purpose your portfolio serves isn’t what you thought it was. It isn’t to show off some awesome creative project you designed, it is about illustrating your proficiency in various skills of the trade and demonstrating that you know how to think and process information. Think about it – do you really want the message your portfolio sends to be how great you can render? Because you’ll be the “render guy”.

5. Hard work is easy to see
You aren’t fooling anyone, there isn’t any coasting and if you think you can get away with it you learn the truth in the most public and humiliating manner. That guy we mentioned earlier – the one who thinks you have to pull all-nighters even though he sleeps during class – he’s full throttle isn’t he? He lives, eats and breathes this stuff - clearly he is going to make a great architect. Right? I could make a drop-in appearance in any studio and pick out the people who work really hard versus the ones who work hard at looking like they are working hard … and your professor knows it too. Yes, there are still prof’s out there who like and support this sort of behavior because it shows “dedication” or at the very worst a high interest level.Ultimately, hard work is it’s own reward.

6. Take business and real estate classes with your electives
I never did this and to be frank, it never even occurred to me. I was already taking a million hours and I saw my electives as a chance to coast a little. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy them or get anything out of the process . I took an intro to Ceramics class as a 6th year senior – all the other students were freshman Fine Arts majors. I had a great time in this class and I am pretty sure I had a guaranteed A after 3 weeks. The professor and I would talk about design and trends and he appreciated that I was there because I wanted to be there, not because I had to. I also did about 50x more “projects” than anyone else because I didn’t screw around as much as the others. Looking back, it was one of my favorite classes but I really wished I had burned that elective with something that would have helped me with my job today.

7. Visit your professors during office hours
This should be lesson #1 but it wasn’t as cool a lead off as all-nighters. This isn’t particular to studio as much as it is any and every class you take. When you take the time to visit your professor and ask some questions, say hello, whatever, magical things typically happen. Most professors are required to keep office hours and depending on the class they teach, I found that nothing happens during this time. As a result, I could ask about the lecture and not only would it get personalized for my benefit, but the professor was now engaged and invested in my success. I wasn’t a suck-up, I didn’t go by to say wass’up but I did make it a point to make an appearance early on in the semester. I just wished I had learned this lesson before I took physics as a freshman.

8. ”Sell” your professor
You should get used to thinking of your professor as your client and not your buddy. I know this might sound contrary to the preceding point but this is more about settings expectations. When you talk to your professor about your project, it’s important that you be able to clearly articulate your reasons for taking the design in the direction you have chosen. You need to think that it is your job to convince them that your assumptions are valid and that there is a good idea behind your logic. The professors job isn’t to do your project for you but rather help protect you from yourself and help guide you along the path you’ve chosen. I always like to hear professors engage in psychiatrist talk, i.e. “Why do you think this was an appropriate gesture” or “what do you think the result of that (blank) would be?” It’s their job to help guide you, not tell you what to do.

9. Crits are not what you think they are (value)
I touched on this a bit in item #3 but most architecture students think this is just about presenting their design and getting the wise and illuminating input from the guest reviewers – it’s not (see #3). This is really another important part of your education. The most important thing you can get out of these critiques is practicing the art of standing up in front of a room of people and emanating confidence and knowledge. You are the expert on your design so you should be able to convey the objectives, strategies, and directions your design takes better than anyone else. Talking under pressure without ahh’s and uhmm’s is a skill – not a gift. If I had known that the ability to effectively communicate was a more prized skill than designing in an architectural office, I would have put more effort into developing it. Nobody wants to hear that anything other than good design sells but it simply isn’t true. The person who can be put in front of the client and communicate and make a connection will be more valued than a skilled designer. Those “star-kitects” you see in the magazines generally have the ability to be amazingly good at both.

10. Break the Rules (big picture)
The best projects tend to be about ideas and not about the literal execution – at least it is at design oriented programs. Who cares how that 10″ column is going to support the “lifestyle pod” on your habitat tree. If people are talking about your toilet layout and not your positive and negative space, your design probably isn’t very good and you are on the road to becoming a successful project manager. Kudos.

I feel like it is important to add that there are all kinds of value to staying up late and being with your studio mates. Going out for a coffee and street meat at 1:00 a.m. tends to build relationships and strengthen solidarity within the studio. I am not telling you to avoid that – you need to do it; it’s part of your education process. I am telling you to get your work done during regular hours (8am to midnight) and then you can screw off with your friends late at night listening to Miike Snow and remixes by Mark Ronson all you want. You can even be “that guy” who walks around offering unsolicited opinions that require a massive design reset - if you want, but nobody likes that guy (that’s #11).
I am here to tell you that nobody gets their best work done past midnight – EVER. Look up the word ‘serendipity’ if you disagree with me. I am also aware that the work is typically more important than the grade so please don’t misconstrue what I am saying: this is about smarter not harder. Spend the time in the studio working instead of playing tape-ball. Please don’t act like there isn’t a lot of screwing around that goes on, we all know better. But don’t think that the old guy who is working over there in the corner while your rounding second base is a jerk because he wants to get home and see his kids. You are supposed to have fun in college, I am just telling you that there is an alternative manner on how to go about your business – one that will make a difference beyond this semester.

via - thelifeofanarchitect.com

Drawing aid

2011-11-24T12:07:00.005-05:00

Drawing aid created by Korean product designer Giha Woo. Once attached to the pen, this device helps to draw straight lines without using a ruler. See more.

Space - egg house or 'blob VB3'

2011-11-20T19:53:00.008-05:00

The chicken or the egg?
In the age of mass production, more designs are fit to be sold to consumers all around the world. Here’s what we’re looking forward to...More

Belgian architectural firm dmvA designed 'blob VB3', as we sweep and dive into the blob like design, which can be practically be placed anywhere in the world. Its' clear that the new design is no slow-burn, hard-to-fathom, funny shape like design. It's white, I've just got into it, and I haven't got the slightest clue how many people would buy it. But this is immediately and emphatically a genius mobile space. The space - egg house consists of a bathroom, kitchen, lighting, a bed and several niches for storage. the nose can be opened automatically and functions as a kind of porch. it easily transportable and can also be used as an office, guest-room or garden house.

Well folks, what are you waiting for, share this project...

Consistently pushes the boundaries

2011-11-18T14:31:00.008-05:00

Zaha Hadid Architects won't stop building

Last month’s innovators 1 hour and 23 minute interview, produced in partnership with Hunter Douglas, features an edited version of a discussion between Zaha Hadid and Architectural Association School of Architecture director Brett Steele.

ZH: Doing my drawings was slow, because they required tremendous concentration and precision. I can’t work on the computer, but today is a very different time and the process is less transparent. The whole system of drawing led to ideas, putting one sheet over another and tracing, like a form of reverse archaeology in a way, leading to a layering process, where distortion in the drawing could lead to distortion in the building. Or extruded drawings could lead to extruded sections in buildings. The processes led to a literal translation in the building.

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