February 2010

2/28/10

Number 1 London Bridge, London UK

John S. Bonnington Partnership designed the No. 1 London Bridge building on the south side of the London Bridge in London. It has a 13 story tower with another 10 story section clad in pink granite and stainless steel. The distinctive front of the building is cut out of the corner with a skylight cut out at the top. The office complex was completed in 1986.

Info and images

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Introducing The Rewritable Printer

Aria Resort & Casino, City Center Las Vegas Nevada

^Phil Guest - flickr/cc license

César Pelli of Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects designed MGM Mirage's Aria Las Vegas in City Center Las Vegas, completed in 2009. The $9 billion project starts with only the mountains, the sunlight and the views. Pelli describes creating the building's own context with complex programs and procession paths. Maya Lin, Jenny Holzer, and other renown designers and artists contributed to this massive project.

The LEED certified 4004-room hotel lets go of the Las Vegas kitch and allows daylight into the deep mall spaces with unique materials and lighting schemes to define exciting spaces. The majority of rooms fit into the gently curving glass building looming into the skylight. It establishes a man-made landscape of crevices and cliffs.

More images inside , More Images inside (2) , More Info and Images , Interview with the architect
Also by César Pelli: Petronas Towers, Minneapolis Public Library

^Phil Guest - flickr/cc license

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^Pocheco - flickr/cc license

2/27/10

Sendai Mediatheque, Aoba-ku Sendai Japan

^yusunkwon - flickr/cc license

Toyo Ito designed the Sendai City Library in Japan, completed in 2001. Columns of steel tubes lattice up through thin 16 inch concrete slabs. This device allows visual connection as well as circulation devices. The lighting scheme punctuates the circular vertical.

The exterior walls are transparent with a glass depth. Program is fit into this scheme with areas defined by public and private spaces. The visual character of each spaces gleams across the interior and out to the public city space.

More Info and Images

Toyo Ito @ Yahoo! Video

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^sendaiblog - flickr/cc license

2/25/10

Austin City Hall, Austin Texas

^That Other Paper - flickr/cc license

Antoine Predock Architects in collaboration with Cotera + Reed Architects and McKinney Kelley JV Landscape Architects designed the Austin City Hall, completed in 2004. The building earned LEED gold for its environmental features including extensive daylighting and green roofs.

The designers mix limestone, copper, glass, water to create a natural feel. Walkways transverse tall public spaces and a tall limestone waterfall descends all the way to the parking garage. The transition between inside and outside is greatly softened by the green landscaping and the living-room style lobby.

More Info and Images , About the green roof & landscaping

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^3CENT - flickr/cc license

2/24/10

Maritime Youth House, Copenhagen Denmark

Julien De Smedt (JDS) and Bjarke Ingels (BIG) designed the Det Maritime Ungdomshus in Copenhagen, completed in 2004. Three challenges faced this project: polluted topsoil, facilities for a sailing club, and facilities for a youth center. The youth programs are simply thrown atop the sailing facilities with a curvy wooden deck that gives plenty of play space. Boats and sailing equipment fits finely underneath. This conveniently also covers up the polluted topsoil, avoiding the cost of a cleanup.

More Info and Images

2/23/10

Chanel Ginza, Ginza Tokyo Japan

^naotakem - flickr/cc license

Peter Marino + Associates Architects designed the Chanel Ginza store in Tokyo Japan. Lighting devices are placed in steel mesh between layers of glass. LED lighting techniques are greatly enhanced by the complex curtain wall systems. The walls thus function as billboards for the product.

The rest of the 10 story building is quite normal, but the actual structure influences the optics in a such a way to completely change the space.

More Info and Images , More info

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2/22/10

Puerta de Europa Towers, Madrid Spain

^Strocchi - flickr/cc license

Philip Johnson and John Burgee designed the Gate of Europe or Torres KIO towers in Madrid Spain. The 115m towers tilt toward each other at a 15° slant. Structural steel with diagonal, vertical and horizontal members surround a vertical reinforced core. Crisp metal is filled with dark glass with a red gridded imprint. The post-modern design is classic Philip Johnson. Each tower has a helicopter pad atop, one red and one blue.

Video: Outside , Music Video