Georgian service stations a real eye opener

Service Stations
When Georgia built a new road connecting the Republic of Azerbaijan with the Republic of Turkey they commissioned architects J.Mayer H to design a series of 20 rest stops (or service stations).

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The result was were these stunning structures that are located on selected scenic viewpoints along the route. They serve as activators for their area and neighbouring cities, including not only a gas stations and supermarket, but also a farmers market and a cultural space for local arts and crafts.

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See  more on Contemporist here.

Woods Bagot releases report into future of airport design

Woods Bagot Warp Speed Aviation ReportWoods Bagot, a leading global architecture and design practice, has recently published a report into airport design and the future implications of global travel.

The report, called WARP Speed: Mach 1, covers a range of topics that will influence the way that airports are designed in the future including technology, efficiency, passenger numbers and collaboration. The report seeks to understand the near to medium term trends that are shaping the design of airports so that we can all build the IATA vision of “sufficient and efficient” infrastructure in a sustainable and future proofed way.

By 2050 it has been estimated that 16 billion passengers will fly every year along with 400 million tonnes of freight. The implications are immense and this first stage report attempts to highlight and tackle some of the core issues.

The report was compiled by a team of senior experts and identifies emerging trends in the aviation industry that will be critical to the future success of airports. It focuses on airports as well as their tenants – airline carriers, retailers and concessionaires.

In the report introduction they say, ‘Woods Bagot’s WARP Speed: Mach I is the first in a series of research investigations that identify emerging trends in the aviation industry that will be critical to the future success of airports. From wild science fiction to grounded realities, WARP Speed: Mach I makes forecasts by exploring the various wants, needs and aspirations of airports and their tenants. Most importantly, WARP Speed: Mach I recognizes that change – fast change – is the only constant in the aviation industry.

Throughout WARP Speed: Mach I, we are taken on an exploration of the often-tenuous relationship that exists between airports and the airline carriers, retailers and concessionaires with which they sh
are both dependence and competition.’

This is an important insight into the issues facing the aviation industry in the coming decades and makes interesting reading.

You can download the full report here:

Smarter Buildings: Interacting with the environment

Experimenting with materials in architecture to achieve environmental benefits has led to the development of many outstanding innovations that have changed the way we interact with buildings.

Now architect Doris Kim Sung, assistant professor of architecture at the USC School of Architecture, is experimenting with how a building can interact with its environment through the materials used in its construction.

Her latest installation, “Bloom”, is 20-foot tall and made from 14,000 tiny sheets of metal that open and close with the sun manipulating the light within the structure.

Sung discovered a new use for a material usually used in thermostat coils that responds to temperature changes. The metal alloy, called “thermobimetal”, is made of two sheets of metal laminated together. Each metal expands at a different rate when heated, curling as the temperature rises and flattening when cooled.

The metal sheets curl upwards with the sun creating moving shaded areas within the installation when needed. Sung believes that it could be used to create canopies that close when the sun is above or vents that open when the air becomes too stuffy and is now working on ways to integrate thermobimetal with standard building components.

It looks fantastic and is a mixture of art and architecture that addresses an environmental need. See a video of the installation below and more can be found on their blog.

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The Think Tank heads off to Nordbygg, Sweden

Did you know that Nordbygg is the biggest building exhibition in Northern Europe? I did (as I have been working on it for a few months)…but last week I attended the fair and was reminded by anyone to whom I said ” Förlåt, jag prata inte Svenska” (I don’t speak Swedish) as they immediately wanted to be sure that this non-Swede knew how proud of the exhibition they are.  

Well, they should be…with three halls packed to the brim at Stockholmmassen, just 10 minutes outside of Central Stockholm, this event is full of tools, materials and everything you can think of to do with the building industry. Over three days I had the opportunity to speak to journalists from many Scandinavian publications and experience the building industry from a completely different cultural perspective.  

I had the privilege of going to Stockholm with our client Formica Group to help launch its VIVIX exterior facade panels. Offering opportunities to play with colour and shape, VIVIX panels can complement or add interest to office buildings, public, cultural and sports facilities, transportation centres, industrial buildings, educational facilities, residential developments and more.  

Eva Hoernisch, Formica Group Design Manager, Europe, was on hand and together we were able to take a few moments to explore the building materials section. With her eye on colour Eva spotted a stand with insulation sample pieces in the most beautiful colour palette. We were dumbfounded at first as to why insulation would be so colourful until we realised it correlated to different degrees of density. VERY clever!  

With room for FIKA (traditional Swedish coffee and cake), a little of bit of Swedish entertainment and a lot of hard work, being part of Nordbygg was definitely an experience to remember.

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Universal Construction Kit solves an age old problem

Carrying on our Lego theme from last week Free Art & Technology (F.A.T.) and Synaptic Lab have teamed up to create the Free Universal Construction Kit.

If you’re the type of person who owns lots of different construction sets, like Lego, K’Nex, Mechano etc, but are frustrated that they don’t fit together then this is for you.!

The Free Universal Construction Kit is a set of 3D adapter bricks that offers complete inter-operability between up to 10 children’s construction toys. With nearly 80 models available for free download, the kit can be printed, one at a time, using open-hardware desktop 3D printers like Makerbot.

Just what we’ve all been waiting for!

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New environment message from Formica at Ecobuild 2012

One of our clients, the Formica Group, is exhibiting at Ecobuild (20-23rd March), the world’s biggest event for sustainable design, construction and the built environment and the UK’s largest construction event of any kind. We will be supporting them throughout the three-day event which takes place at the ExCeL exhibition and conference centre in London’s Docklands, and have set up press interviews, designed a special brochure for the event and look forward to making a special announcement at the show relating to a major sustainability initiative which underlines the company’s commitment to meet the challenges of tomorrow.  

Renee Hytry Derrington and Gavin Todd, Formica Group senior executives will be at the stand, offering a unique insight into the company’s product innovation and sustainability strategies.   After 99 years of defining the look and performance of modern interiors worldwide, the company goes all out (excuse the pun) with its innovative exterior facade panels VIVIX which will be showcased in the UK for the first time at Ecobuild. A perfect way to celebrating many decades of innovation!

See more about Formica and the Environment here.

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How the Chinese build a 30-story hotel in 15 days

This is how pre-fabrication is done in China or ‘How the Chinese build a 30-story, five-star hotel in only 15 days.’ 

Built by the Broad Group, it used prefab construction techniques for ninety-three percent of the high-rise. The 17,000 square meter hotel is known as T30, is located in the Lin Gang Industrial Zone in Xiangyin County and comprises of over 350 rooms, a restaurant, bar, gym, swimming pool on the top floor, underground parking and a helicopter pad.

Interesting viewing.
 

 

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Tiger & Turtle – Magic Mountain

German artists Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth have completed designs for “Tiger & Turtle – Magic Mountain” in Duisburg, Germany.

The walkable, large outdoor sculpture Tiger & Turtle – Magic Mountain is currently in construction on the Heinrich Hildebrand Höhe in Duisburg Wanheim (D). It overtops the plateau with the artificially heaped-up mountain by 21 metres so the visitor can rise by more than 45metres above the level of the landscape and enjoy an impressive view over the Rhine.

The curved flight of stairs inscribes like a signature on the landscape and plays upon the iconic nimbus of the classical roller coaster. Visitors climb the roller-coaster-sculpture on foot via differently steep steps. So the sculpture subtly and ironically plays with the feelings of promise and disappointment, mobility and standstill, just like a real roller coaster. Visitors happen to briefly meet with oncoming visitors on the steep 1 metre wide corridors. LED-lights are integrated in the handrails and highlight the flight of stairs so the sculpture is accessible at night, too.

To read more visit Contemporist. Photography by Eichental

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Bethnal Green Town Hall Hotel


Combining careful restoration and computer led parametric design, the Bethnal Green Town Hall Hotel looks set to open its doors to the public this November. Led by the design team at rare architecture the aluminium skinned extension to this historic building may polarise opinions but its use of digital is, at the very least, intriguing. The patterning in this aluminium skin varies according to what is situated behind it; opaque when covering bare walls and perforated where let needs to be let in. This pioneering use of computer modelling has led the project to be used as a teaching case study at the AA, whilst the digitally crafted wall panels within the buildings interior formed part of the furniture range showcased by rare at the London Design Festival. For a further insight into this innovative building visit Blueprint Magazine.

Centre piece of Russia’s Silicon Valley

Blueprint says ‘Identified flying objects: the school’s hovering disc and glass-fronted towers espouse ‘openess, cohesion and lack of hierarchy’, unlike the student body. One of its rooftop towers, a patterned glass finger, may point towards the city centre but Moscow School of Management sits incongruously on a 26.5ha green site encircled by forest.’

Apparently this building is the trailblazer in President Dmitry Medvedev’s Skolkovo project to emulate the USA’s Silicon Valley. It was designed by David Adjaye and funded by $320m of public finance and private investment. Various Russian corporate giants and oligarchs are paying to import scientific talent and technical specialists to study in Moscow and Ukranian oligrach Viktor Vekselberg, Skolkovo’s project leader, envisages further investment of around $6.5bn over the next three years to realise this ‘prototype of the city of the future’.

Read more on Blueprint

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Foster + Partners unveils Zayed National Museum, Abu Dhabi

Foster + Partners has recently unveiled designs for the Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi. It is presented as a monument and memorial to the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding president of the UAE. The aim is to architecturally create a contemporary form with elements of traditional Arabic design and hospitality that creates a museum that is sustainable, welcoming and culturally of its place. Read more on ArchDaily

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Wilson House by Denton Corker Marshall

As an international design practice Denton Corker Marshall is known for producing striking and innovative architecture and urban design in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. Solving complex design problems on every scale their work includes commissions for buildings of international significance to micro skyscraper coffee cups. This is one of their recent projects – looks great but does it remind anyone else of an ice cream wafer?

See more on 2 Modern Blog

The Think Tank

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Nominated for Best PR Campaign

The Think Tank has been shortlisted in this year’s Construction Marketing Awards in the Best PR Campaign category for our work with SAS International. We have worked with this leading architectural metalwork, ceiling and room comfort systems manufacturer for several years and at the start of 2010 work was extended when we were appointed as their European and Middle East PR agency in a competitive agency pitch.

The Think Tank provides a range of services to SAS International including digital communications and graphic design.

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Matt W Moore adds colour for Dulux Campaign

Dulux’s Let’s Colour campaign has been extended by mural painter Matt W Moore ,creating a series of ‘live painting performances’ in Marseille, Lyon and Paris. Let’s Colour launched in the spring and is a global campaign from Dulux/AkzoNobel based on a concept to stage events in different cities in which Dulux paint is used to brighten up a neighbourhoods thereby “adding colour to people’s lives”.

See more here

The Think Tank

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Formica launches new European Collection

Formica Limited has launched its new Collection including intriguing premium textures and many new unique designs.

Formica comments, ‘This new Collection presents a comprehensive palette of High Pressure Laminate (HPL) specially designed in response to European trends. With extensive colour families and co-ordination between ranges, textures and patterns, innovation and exclusivity are watchwords of this exciting offer.’  

The new Collection includes a unique new texture Rigato™ and new patterns Mode, Geo, Dogbone and Strand. The Formica Collection is a practical, trend led resource for Architects, Designers and Specifers and demonstrates how the Formica Group continues to innovate and lead the market in decorative laminates.

Click here to see more

The Think Tank

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A great hideaway in the Swiss Alps

The Villa Vals is in the Swiss village Vals and combines ‘Dutch Design’ with ‘Swiss Quality’. Their web site says ‘Villa Vals is a freestanding dwelling directly next to the famous Therme of Peter Zumthor. The luxurious villa is extremely quiet, offering breathtaking views of pristine nature.

The house – approximately 160m2 – is completely dug out of the mountainside and is surrounded by a spacious. A large glass façade opens out onto the terrace (60 m2) and offers a spectacular view of green meadows (snow-covered hillsides in the winter) and mountaintops.’

Looks like a great place to get away from it all.

Find out more about the villa and its designers on their web site

The Think Tank – Marketing Communications

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Spray on Solar Panels deliver electricity

Norwegian Company EnSol AS has developed a remarkable new spray-on solar film that allows windows to generate solar power without clouding the view. Consisting of metal nanoparticles embedded in a transparent composite matrix it can be easily sprayed – but not just on glass but on other building materials as well.

Find out more on Inhabitat

 

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Beetle’s House for V&A Museum

Artist Terunobu Fujimori has created a tiny building for the Victoria and Albert Museum as part of the exhibition “1:1 Architects Build Small Spaces”. Web Urbanist says, ‘Looking like a prop from a Tim Burton film, the little structure lives up to its name: Beetle’s House. It stands on four slightly off-kilter legs presenting its charred pine wood exterior, like the protective shell of an insect, and seems as if it could get up and walk away at any moment.’

See more here

The Think Tank – http://www.thinktank.org.uk

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Quirky Solar House Design by IAAC

The Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) has designed the Fab Lab house as their entry into the 2010 Solar Decathlon Europe. The goal of all the houses in the competition is to communicate the benefits of using renewable energies, especially solar energy, in a domestic environment.

This is very quirky and an interesting use of renewable technology and sustainable construction.

See more on Contemporist

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Design for Surrey Library by Bing Thom Architects

This is a great design for a new library in Surrey, Vancouver. Designed by Bing Thom Architects it is part of a new development and is due to open in Summer 2011. The development includes a new city hall, urban plaza, performing arts centre and commercial space.

Read more on Arch Daily

 

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