Beijing Olympic Venues

 

Olympic greenness might begin with wet scrubbers and traffic schemes, but such measures lack the glamour of rainwater-capture systems and solar-heated swimming pools. Beijing has pulled out all of the stops for its new Olympic buildings — choosing cutting-edge architects, striking designs and new-fangled technology to increase energy efficiency. Beijing will launch its green games from a new city center: the aptly named Olympic Green. Its three central parts — the Forest Park, the Cultural Axis and the Olympic Axis — connect different venues, public areas and subway stops.

The Beijing National Stadium, the city’s newest jewel and the future site of the opening ceremonies, anchors the Olympic Green. China imported the famous Swiss design firm Herzog & de Meuron Architekten AG to design the 91,000 capacity stadium, popularly known as “the bird’s nest.”

Until recently, most Chinese designs came from local institutes once owned by the state. The institutes put out a huge number of buildings, but they lacked creativity and flair. Since then, Beijing’s growth has stirred up an interest in design. Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron are known for their imaginations and use of material skins as sheathing. For the tangled National Stadium, they made the skin double as the building’s structure. The bird’s nest description originated as a way to describe the stadium’s use of structural steel in its exterior. Bird’s nests are also Chinese delicacies.

China also brought in the Australian PTW Architects to design the Olympic Green’s National Aquatics Center, or “water cube.” The walls of the low building imitate the structure of soap bubbles. Gas pumped between two layers of plastic film is cordoned off into smaller chambers to create bubbles. The center will host swimming, diving, synchronized swimming and water polo competitions.

But there’s more to Beijing than the Olympic Games. In the next section, we’ll learn about some of the city’s other attractions.

76 Square Feet… How’s this for Residence Life?

 

 

 

A village of seven micro-compact homes, sponsored by international telecoms company O2 Germany, has been built at the Technical University Munich.

 

The village, which was launched in November 2005, accommodates six students. The intention was that the selected six would live there, alongside their British Professor Richard Horden, for a single term only, but the village has proved so popular that the students have asked to extend their stay to the full academic year.

 

The m-ch measures 266cm x 266cm x 266cm. The ceiling height is 198cm and the door width is 60cm. I did some measuring and these would be smaller then your cubical. Get out the tape measure and see for yourself.

  

Inside the m-ch features:

 

·     two compact double beds, each measuring 198cm x 107cm, with covered cushions

·     storage space for bedding and cleaning equipment

·     a sliding table measuring 105cm x 65cm, for dining for up to five people

·     flat screen television in the living/dining space

·     a shower and toilet cubicle

·     a kitchen area, which is fitted with electrical points and features a double hob, sink and extending tap, microwave, fridge and freezer units, three compartment waste unit, storage shelves, cutlery drawers with gentle return sprung slides and double level work surfaces

·     thermostat controlled ducted warm air heating, air conditioning, water heating

·     fire alarm and smoke detectors  

 

I love how there’s a fire alarm. I guess if you have a party and someone blows something up or you burn something in our microwave you would need as much warning as possible to evacuate the building!

 

 

 

 

 

Dynamic Architecture

Here is some information about the hottest architect in the news today, David Fisher.

Dr. David Fisher the visionary architect and creator of the Dynamic Tower, the world’s first building in motion, began his career in Florence Italy, after graduating with honour in architecture from the University of Florence, he became later a lecturer of Architecture and Structural Engineering at the same university.

Over the last three decades, he have been passionately designing buildings in harmony with nature, as well as redefining the technical and technological extremes of buildings, particularly in major cities like London, Moscow, Hong Kong, Paris and Dubai.

At the same time, Dr. Fisher have been involved in restoring ancient monuments and in designing public buildings through the New York office of Fiteco Ltd, which he launched in the 1980s.

For more info check out http://www.dynamicarchitecture.net

Water and Sustainable Development

 

It’s time to hop on a plane and visit Zaragoza in Spain where the international Water and Sustainable Development show opens this month.

With 5,000 shows, 2,000 experts and 140 pavilions it claims to be the biggest water festival on earth. The Expo had quite a difficult and ironic debut when during the days before the official opening, unpredicted massive rainfalls almost ruined the site due to flooding of the river Ebro. Luckily the Expo organisers could avoid most of the damage and EXPO ZARAGOZA opened its doors on June 14th and will stay open until September 14th.

To reduce the overall impact of the Expo itself, biodegradable dishes and cups, wooden cutlery and bags made from potato starch have been chosen to reduce the amount of waste produced at such an event.

Promotional material and gifts have also been eco-designed. The typical Spanish hand fans for example are made from unbleached, recycled-paper and printed with ecological ink. The special Expo pens are made from recycled CDs or used car parts. Organic materials, such as untreated wood or even seaweed have been turned into pencils and pens.

 

Detailing the Sobek House

The glass-and-steel R128 House is located on a steeply sloped site with panoramic views of Stuttgart, Germany. Although this house seems sterile and completely transparent, it is a home where comfort and privacy issues for the inhabitants have been met. It is a completely recyclable, emission-free, energy self-sufficient building.

The house has no interior doors, switches, or interior walls. All appliances and environmental systems are controlled by motion sensors and voice commands, while aluminum ceiling panels hide the lighting fixtures and air vents. Electric power comes from the solar photovoltaic panels on the roof.

This is an experimental house designed by Werner Sobek, a professor of engineering and architecture at the University of Stuttgart who is also the head of the Institute for Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design in Stuttgart, as well as the owner and principal of an engineering company, Werner Sobek Engineering & Design.

The design resulted from his desire to have an all-glass house with unencumbered views of the surrounding city and countryside that would also employ contemporary engineering concepts for sustainable buildings.

Take a look at www.architectureweek.com for more information.

Going Green with Ken Yeang

I was watching a show on TVO called design: e2 and I came across a few very interesting architects and their work. Check it out…