A Moving Skyscraper for N.Y.? By John Tierney

Would you like to see a building twisting itself into different shapes night and day on the New York skyline? Would you like to live in an apartment with a view that rotates 360 degrees? It may be a little hard at the moment to arrange financing for such tower — or any other new skyscraper in Manhattan — but the architect David Fisher is looking for a place to build it here someday.

He’s already designed such an edifice in Dubai called the Dynamic Tower, billed as the “world’s first building in motion.” Dr. Fisher, an architect based in Florence, he told me that he hopes groundbreaking for the Dubai tower will occur “within a matter of weeks,” and said that the problems in the credit market haven’t affected the project.

The tower is supposed to generate enough electricity to supply the power needs for itself as well as buildings nearby. The electricity will come from horizontal wind turbines tucked away between each of its 80 floors, and from solar photovoltaic cells on the roof each story. As the individual floors move, about 20 percent of each roof is expected to be exposed to the sun at any time of the day.

Dr. Fisher, who’s working on another of these towers for Moscow, was in town this week to discuss plans for New York. Where might it go? “We are currently looking at a few sites,” he told me. “It should be a place from where the view is attractive and also where people can stand and watch the building changing its shape.”

Any suggestions for him? Any predictions on how well those turbines and photovoltaic cells will work? And would you pay a premium to live in a room with a moving view?

Luxury and Elegance House Architecture by Judy Goodger

Prestigious house by Judy Goodger with luxury design is a confident architecture in texture, layers and shapes to produce flowing horizontal lines to create a home with real street presence. The family room looks out to its own secret landscape with a water feature and pebbled garden, while the very private pool and impressive entry make a memorable first impression. This house has three large bedroom are serviced by 2 immaculately appointed marble bathrooms, with a powder room at the pool level. The central living-dining area incorporates a dramatic ‘floating wall’ at the head of the stairs, balanced by the soaring, inverted ceiling. A wall of glass glides to one side, enabling the sleek, sophisticated kitchen to become part of the al fresco dining area on the spacious deck.

Architecture Building of Youth Center and Sports by KOZ Architects in France

This building is not lacking in self-confidence. No sooner have you left behind a quiet row of smart private houses in the traditional millstone grit Parisian style with front steps and plane trees than you come face to face with an odd-looking building, imposing but also childishly simple, more cubist than cube-shaped, decidedly “flashy”, evoking happy memories of a child’s toy.The spaces are superimposed without being separated. Inside, the same colors are systematically repeated, like stepping in an oversized graffiti. The building is a vertical piling of activity spaces wrapped in a ribbon of concrete providing unity to the whole. Concrete was the natural choice as it highlights the building’s sculptural appearance while satisfying the requirements of: superimposing of large rooms atop the gymnasium with little load bearing possibilities.

The project is broadly made up of prefabricated concrete load-bearing panels. The molded and tinted reinforced concrete contrasts with the colored surfaces of the laminated panels.

Colored facades
The main facade is made of tinted glass with a color gradient from red to green. The other 3 facades are more homogeneous, albeit colored, too.

A sustainable project
The tinted glass facades provide good protection against setting sun and long-lasting color.

Home Exterior Interior Design Ideas by Architectural Designer Kevin Akey

These are the sample pictures of Home Exterior and Interior Design Ideas by Architectural Designer Kevin Akey. This home is designed using modern contemporary architecture. The lighting design, the choice of furniture, and the choice of color can become the inspiration in designing and decorating a futuristic home.

“Glass and Steel House – Luxury House with Beautiful Vibrant Color Combination”

Asymptote

Scheduled to open October 2009, Asymptote Architecture’s YAS hotel in Abu Dhabi is currently nearing completion. Based in NYC, Asymptote are known for their work at the crossroads of Art and Architecture.

Yes, that’s a formula 1 racetrack you can see in front of the hotel in the image below.


The grid-shell encompassing the hotel complex consists of 5,800 pivoting diamond shaped glass panels. With the help of lighting integrated behind each panel, designed in conjunction with Arup Lighting in NYC, the project is said to ‘respond visually and tectonically to it’s environment.

I am yet to figure out for sure whether the individual panels of this facade actually move, but I do remember hearing about a year ago that this was the intention. Regardless of whether this ambitious plan made it through to the final design – the result is definitely spectacular. This hotel is, after all, in the desert.


Asymptote’s founders and partners Hani Rashid and Lise Anne Couture quote their inspiration for the architectural landmark as ‘aesthetics and forms associated with speed, movement and spectacle to the artistry and geometries forming the basis of ancient Islamic art and craft traditions.’


In 2004 Hani Rashid and Lise Anne Couture were awarded the Frederick Kiesler Prize for Architecture and the Arts in recognition of contributions to the progress and merging of Arts and Architecture. For this project, I’ll be keen to see what they do with the facade (content?) once it’s up and running.

Tallest Buildings in Dubai

The amazing architecture for spectacular buildings in Dubai is another reason of the United Arab Emirates gaining widespread global attention. The emirate is experiencing construction boom with new and latest real estate developments. It includes both residential as well as commercial real estate in Dubai. Dubai’s crown prince has already set a national goal of attracting around 15 million tourists in the year 2010. The emirate is well known for great property constructions and has developed some masterpieces which promise to be the world’s tallest, largest and one of its kinds projects.