Founded by a group of international architects in NYC in 2003, eVolo Architecture aims
to set new standards for the future of architecture. Although it
claims to act as a forum of discussion for the development of new
ideas pertaining to architectural design, it effectively provides a
forum for innovation and forward-thinkers to be as creative as they
can be, and get a bit of credit for it.
The forward-looking group holds yearly international
competitions for innovative architectural design with absolutely no
height, shape, or other restrictions (besides being technologically
feasible and environmentally responsible). Prizes for the most
creative and innovative designs are awarded, incentivising
forward-progress and some elegant roadmaps for the future of urban
architectural development.
Below we’ve showcased five of the nine 2008 Skyscraper
Competition winners’ amazing works of art.
The world may finally be ready for Zaha Hadid. An
Iraq-born deconstructivist architect based in London, Hadid has
been making waves with controversial and futuristic architectural
concepts for over 20 years. Many of her ideas never made it past
the drawing board, because the designs were just too…well,
different.
Now, she’s gaining steam, and has projects going all over the
world. She was recently commissioned to design an Aquatics
Centre in London for the 2012 Summer Olympics, a
Performing Arts Center in Abu Dhabi, and the spaceship-like
Innovation Tower for the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Her buildings are oddly shaped (compared to traditional
architecture), but definitely have a very organic feel. For
instance, the Abu Dhabi building (pictured above)is complete with
windows that look like leaves, and Hadid herself calls it a
“biological analogy”.
One of the richest cities in the world, it’s no
wonder architectural innovation is blossoming in Dubai. The
latest of which is the Pixel Tower – a new-age, champagne-inspired
state of the art residential building for the hip and filthy rich.
Designed by James Law of James Law
Cybertecture International, this 18-story beauty sits on
Dubai’s waterfront and is designed specifically with sun exposure
and seaside-viewing maximization in mind.
Not only an architectural sight to behold, Pixel Tower is also
fully equipped the technology their target clientele is after. With
security cameras that can be read from cell phones and PDAs and the
ability to control one’s apartment remotely, its first residents
will feel light-years ahead of any average young and trendy
apartment dweller situated most anywhere else.
Check out more pictures of this architectural phenomenon
scheduled for completion in 2010 below the fold. It is indeed, as
Law put
it, a “forerunner of building towards future living that embodies
great design, efficiency, style and technology.”
The Lithuanian capital city of Vilnius is about to embark on the
construction of a new-age masterpiece. Designed by award-winning
British Iraqi
deconstructivist architect Zaha Hadid, the new Guggenheim
Hermitage Museum will be a museum and arts center that houses the
St. Petersburg-based State Hermitage Museum and selected Guggenheim
collections.
The pre-build research for the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum is
slated for completion by 2008 and the building set to open in 2011.
Check out the phenomenal photos of the design pictured below the
fold.
Other remarkable projects by Zaha Hadid currently underway
include the CMA
CGM Tower in Marseille, France, the Bridge
Pavilion in Zaragoza, Spain, the Kartal Urban Transformation in
Istanbul, Turkey, and the Glasgow
Transport Museum in Glasgow, Scotland.
Seeing such forward-thinking architecture cropping up in the
small post-Soviet Baltic country of Lithuania, with a total
population of only about 3.7 million, demonstrates just how high
the bar has been set for futuristic architecture around the world.
I wonder when such design will make its way into more expensive
markets like NYC? (cont.)
In 1974 talk-show host Harold Channer
engaged Bucky Fuller in one of the most in-depth interviews of his
day. The two intellectual equals discussed ideas well ahead of
their time- looking at the emergence of new human industrial
systems based on models of ‘abundance’ over scarcity, the
implications of modern design, and the potential of a ‘global
satellite cable-vision’ communication network and individual
creation of media.
This 58 minute
conversation should not be missed – as a video or background
audio conversation!
And we are grateful for Harold Channer
for posting his video archives on the web!
One of the richest cities in the world, it’s 