Inhabitat » Architecture

July 2, 2009

Largest Eco-Village in the UK Will Boast Zero Carbon Homes

by Evelyn Lee

The United Kingdom’s Hanham Hall Development is the largest eco-village aspiration to date. Designed by HTA and funded by Barratt Developments and the Homes & Communities Agency, there are a rumored 188-195 zero carbon homes in the overall housing scheme. The development will include an onsite biomass CHP plant, strategically placed reed beds, shops for farmers to sell their goods, bicycle storage throughout, and a carefully crafted drainage system. Hanham Hall is the first major eco city underway that is part of the government’s Carbon Challenge Programme. The government has set a goal for all new builds to be zero carbon by 2016. It looks as though they are six years ahead of the curve.

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July 2, 2009

Miniature Modernist Bauhaus Architectural Models

by Beth Shea

Good things really do come in small packages — as is the case with these mini modernist Bauhaus Models crafted by Auckland based painter and sculptor Gidon Bing and styled by Katie Lockhart. The diminutive Bauhaus dwellings were created as a promotional showcase for New Zealand paint company, Renese, to demonstrate their Karen Walker Paint charts. The inspiration for the dollhouse models was derived from “the Bauhaus school of the 1920s whose concept was to create and combine colors from an emotional point of view rather than a technical one.” This artful nod to Bauhaus architecture blurs the lines between child’s play and grownup art appreciation, proving that great design spans the ages.

Marmol Radziner Prefab’s Hollywood Hybrid Takes Shape in the Hills

by Haily Zaki

Pre-built homemakers extraordinaire, Marmol Radziner Prefab were in the news this week once again introducing their newest custom prefab home. High up in the hills above Los Angeles sits the new Hollywood Hybrid, a 2576 sq. ft. sustainable, modern prefab home with killer views and a minimal carbon footprint. Inhabitat went up to the site where the home was being built for a peek.

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July 1, 2009

Solar Mobile Home Liberates Office-Bound Desk Jockies

by Ariel Schwartz

Today all that nomadic telecommuters need is internet access, a phone, and some strong coffee. Waskman Design Studio’s stunning mobile home, designed for Vodafone, has all of those things (except the caffeine). The solar powered trailer was created for Vodafone to show off its fixed phone and wireless internet service, and is currently occupied by blogger Marcos Morales and his family as they travel through Spain on a family vacation!

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Beautiful Solar Storage Barn Built From Raw Materials

Who says materials have to be scraped, buffed, and varnished to be beautiful? Recently, we spotted a beautiful storage barn that proves raw materials can make a breathtaking exterior. The building’s site was once home to a scrap lumber yard where the owner was looking to restrain the sprawl of the wood and stone. The architects, Gray Organschi Architecture, designed a simple structure that not only stores the materials, but operates off-grid on an isolated site. With accessibility in mind, the lumber is organized on the exterior of the building in rectangular cubby holes, creating a wonderful mosaic-like texture that proves that functionality and aesthetics can go hand-in-hand.

Invisibility Cloaks May Shield Buildings From Earthquakes

We all know that invisibility cloaks can protect Harry Potter from Filch and his cat Mrs. Norris, but now physicists in France and the UK say they may be used to hide buildings from the devastating effects of earthquakes as well. Sound like fiction? It’s not! Stefan Enoch and his team at the Fresnel Institute in Marseilles, France have been studying other applications for the physics behind invisibility cloaks. The result of their research is an “earthquake cloak” that could render objects “invisible” to shocks, storm waves or tsunamis. And they aren’t even Level 8 mages!

A77 Architects Fashion Home From Demolition Materials

Argentinean architects Gustavo Dieguez and Lucas Gilardi of Estudio a77 transformed an existing 1950s house on a small lot in an upscale neighborhood of Buenos Aires into an innovative eco-friendly dwelling. Constructed from recycled and reclaimed materials, this ‘demolition house’ turns trash into a treasured abode. Using approximately 50 meters of recycled highway guard rails from the General Paz (a highway surrounding Buenos Aires) and 300 meters of discarded metal profiles, wood, iron doors and windows found in scrap yards, Dieguez and Gilardi rework demolition materials into fully functioning structural elements.

GrowShelter: Living, Growing Shelter for Plants, Animals and People

Julia Molloy and Taka Sarui of Brooklyn design collaborative XLXS created the GrowShelter, a highly unique living environment where humans, plants and animals may co-exist. Consisting of three spherical shells embedded with seeds, the habitat is designed to evolve with the seasons - starting the cycle in spring, the spheres are embedded in a mixture of earth/mud/seed, and as summer approaches, the plants will be in bloom and the embedded food in the mud will create a mini haven for local animals and birds. The earth should weather away by fall and winter, leaving the permanent shells ready to be packed again for spring.

Sears Tower Going Green With $350 Million Renovation

Just like the Empire State Building, the famed Sears Tower in Chicago will be soon receiving some major eco upgrades to become more energy efficient. Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture is responsible for the upgrade plans as well as a brand new 50-story luxury hotel to be built right next to the tower. The eco upgrade will reduce energy consuption by 68,000,000 kWh per year or the equivalent of 50,000 barrels of crude oil. Costs for the renovation are estimated at $350 million dollars for tower, which will soon be renamed Willis Tower.

Butterfly Bamboo Homes Are Hope for Thai Orphans

There is nothing we love more than good design meeting up with a good cause. That’s why we love this student humanitarian design project on the Thai Burmese border: it combines beautifully designed (and super efficient) vernacular-inspired architecture with social responsibility in aiding the plight of Karen refugee orphans. Five students in Thailand are using architecture to make new lives for 24 orphans by providing them with homes to call their own.

AIR FOREST: Inflatable Pavilion Lights up the Night

Mass Studies created this wonderful dream-inspired pavilion for Denver’s Dialog:City last summer. Known as the Air Forest, the pneumatic pavilion absorbs passing wind currents to stay inflated and provides shade while allowing sunlight to filter through, creating a vibrant public space. The 1,400 square meter structure is easily transported, sets up in a snap without any building materials, and at night it lights up in a beautiful display of luminous pillars.

Marmol Radziner and Dwell Debut New Skyline Series of Prefabs

Inhabitat favorites Marmol Radziner Prefab and Dwell have teamed together in a joint effort to bring “good design to everyone” with their recently debuted Skyline series of prefabs! Unveiled just this past Friday at the Dwell on Design Conference, the Skyline series comprises four interchangeable floor plans available in six modern configurations that make extensive use of recycled materials, high efficiency insulation, and offer the optional installation of solar panels. Available in sizes ranging from 1 story (1755 sq ft) to two stories (3180 sq ft), the series has been designed for installation in urban spaces and offers the privacy of a residential retreat while bringing the outdoors in through a series of floor to ceiling windows and patio spaces.