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Posts Tagged “

buildings

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buildings

Dynamic Tower Skyscraper: Every Floor Self-Rotates, Powered by Wind and Sun

Italian architect David Fisher is building his first skyscraper, the Dynamic Tower, and it happens to be one of the most ambitious construction plans since the Pyramid of Khufu. Every floor of the 80-story self-powered building rotates according to voice command, and nearly the entire structure of the $700 million building is pre-fabbed. I caught up with the architect in New York, and he blew my mind again and again. More »

Feature

10:30 PM on Tue Jun 24 2008
By Benny Goldman
59,351 views, 112 comments

Latest by GadgetPlay: @Ghinn: "a system in place to repel or otherwise make it impossible for birds to perch there" It's called "chicken wire." @Kharnellius: "Just to go pick up the kids you're going to have to wait something like 20-30 min just to get more »

chinese earthquake

How a 730-Ton Ball Kept the Second Tallest Building From Falling During the Chinese Earthquake

The recent Sichuan Earthquake in China was so intense, tremors were felt all the way over in the tallest completed building in the world—the Taipei 101 building in Taiwan—a whole eight minutes after the quake originated. (The title of tallest building period was taken by the Burj Dubai back in May.) What's interesting about the 101 is that it has a gigantic suspended tuned mass damper, or hanging ball, which takes up four stories and works like this to prevent the building from falling over and tragically crushing office workers. This 730 ton sphere looks intimidating when still, but wait until you see it in motion during the earthquake. More »

Feature

10:00 AM on Tue Jun 24 2008
By Jason Chen
65,123 views, 101 comments

Latest by n/a: Cool. That's my photo at the top. It was taken during the Wikimania conference in Taipei last year. more »

dwp

Digital Water Pavilion at Zaragoza World Expo Inaugurated (Verdict: Wet)

Remember the Digital Water Pavilion I previewed last year? Devised by a bunch of MIT brainiacs, who described it as being rather like an inkjet printer controlling droplets of falling water, it was finally inaugurated last week at the Zaragoza World Expo in Spain. Although the video is only short you can see the brazilliant effects of the water. Most interesting, however, is what the pavilion needs to make it go. More »

8:10 AM on Tue Jun 17 2008
By AddyDugdale
3,126 views, 9 comments

Latest by n/a: i swear i saw this here before, jeep did it way better. movement, letter, even the front end grill of a jeep. + Watch video more »

buildings

'Tokyo Sky Tree' to be Second-Tallest Building in the World

There's a new super-skyscraper going up, and for once it's not in Dubai. The new Tokyo Sky Tree will stand a whopping 2000 feet (610 meters) over Tokyo, making it by far the tallest building in Japan and perhaps the second tallest building in the world. More »

9:43 AM on Mon Jun 16 2008
By Adam Frucci
9,443 views, 45 comments

Latest by n/a: Dubai sucks. It's great if you like overpriced eastern European hookers and hot weather. Not sure why anyone goes there. I guess it's to see all the dumb buildings that those dumb Arabs build to make up for their short more »

dubai opera house

Zaha Hadid's Dubai Opera House Design Makes Me See Cylon Raiders

I'm just wondering if British architect Zaha Hadid is a Battlestar Galactica fan. It seems so, as her design for the Dubai Opera House is reminiscent of those croissant-shaped fighters that zing through space, facing down Starbuck et al. The development will go up on an island in Dubai Creek, and as well as hosting an auditorium with room for 2,500 people to hear fat ladies singing, it will house an 800-seat playhouse, arts gallery, performing arts school and six-star themed hotel. [Dezeen]

6:20 AM on Fri Jun 6 2008
By AddyDugdale
11,848 views, 51 comments

Latest by n/a: "Ahhhh... your gas dollars at work. Excellent!" I'd rather see my gas dollars building something like this as opposed to building nuclear weapons, tanks and bombers. more »

architecture

Cybertecture Egg Makes One Tasty Office

In 2010, a few lucky office workers in Mumbai, India, will see a major upgrade from the common cubicle. Because the Cybertecture Egg is being constructed to be one of the most forward-thinking workplaces in the world. More »

9:45 AM on Thu May 29 2008
By Mark Wilson
10,846 views, 33 comments

Latest by n/a: That's gonna look good when they get the slums finished around it. more »

apple store

First Look: Boston Apple Store Uncovered

Here's the first look at the new largest Apple Store in the U.S, courtesy of John Sheehy. Last time we saw the glass mammoth, it was covered up in an unsightly green sheet. Upon viewing this pic, you're expected to fall to your knees, shed an awe-inspired tear, and proceed to the nearest Apple Store — where you will buy large amounts of Apple gear. [Thanks, John]

9:10 PM on Tue May 13 2008
By Adrian Covert
14,973 views, 82 comments

Latest by n/a: Fit to be tied in bumfolk, egypt. Is it no job, some work, or filling in for everyday folk. Ah, to be a switchboard operator again! more »

buildings

Flare Facade is a 'Living Skin' for Building Exteriors

This Flare Facade is a fancy building exterior that allows it to "express, communicate and interact with its environment." It's certainly neat looking, but it doesn't seem to have any, you know, practical application. I wonder if it would be possible to stick solar panels on these and have them automatically tilt towards the sun. That would allow them to keep being all neat-looking while also serving a purpose to justify their undoubtedly expensive installation costs. [Flare Facade via MAKE]

3:20 PM on Thu Apr 24 2008
By Adam Frucci
3,878 views, 31 comments

Latest by unspellable: @SeattleTed: That's interesting about the feasibility of PVC cells. I wonder, though, whether they could be used to act as a heatsink in the Winter and and heat deflector in the Summer (for temperate climates).... I suppose the building would then more »

elevators

Things You Don't Know About Modern Elevators

Earlier today we posted on a New Yorker piece about a man trapped in an elevator for 41 hours. But the real gem of the article was the mountain of "Did you know..." facts laced throughout. Like that Door Close button you're always pushing? Yeah, it doesn't work. Here's the full list: More »

10:40 PM on Wed Apr 16 2008
By Adrian Covert
80,423 views, 133 comments

Latest by B: @dhlt25: "how do people get accidents on a escalator?" Didn't you see Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure? They warned Socrates to be careful with his flowing toga or risk getting sucked under the escalator! more »

environment

Three Giant Wind Turbines Turned On at Once at Bahrain World Trade Center

What you're looking at isn't a render or merely a concept of some fanciful building that'll never actually become a reality. No, what you're looking at is an actually photograph of the new Bahrain World Trade Center, a pair of pointy skyscrapers with three propellers with 95 foot diameters between them. And this week, they activated all three turbines at the same time. Now that they're all running, they'll be providing 10-15% of the energy for both towers, which will save loads of money over the years. More »

4:30 PM on Thu Apr 10 2008
By Adam Frucci
14,398 views, 108 comments

Latest by frogpelt: @phreakincool: It's hilarious when people assume that because the person they voted for didn't win that the election was rigged by the mafia or something. Don't you remember that after 9/11 Bush had the highest approval rating in the history of our more »

buildings

Norwegian Ski Hotel Placed Right On The Slopes

io9 found this great concept by Danish design architects BIG which places a hotel against the side of a mountain with the idea that hotel patrons can finish off a ski or snowboard run by riding directly to their floor. The hotel looks absolutely epic, and I like the way the wavy lines of the hotel match the tracks left on snow by skis and snowboards. [BIG via io9] More »

10:45 PM on Wed Feb 6 2008
By Adrian Covert
10,410 views, 33 comments

Latest by n/a: How do you get to the top? A series of inconvenient elevators in the hotel? Or bundle up and take a gondola? more »

art

Modem Berlin is an Art/Music Space in an Abandoned Cold War Power Plant

The Modem is a new art and music venue opening in Berlin that's being built in an abandoned power plant that used to supply juice and heat to East Berlin. It's a gigantic space, nearly 250,000 square feet in size, and it's full of Cold War-era contraptions, knobs, levers and other fun doodads that are sure to give it a completely unique atmosphere. If the art and music are any good I would say this will be come a must-visit spot for anybody visiting Berlin. Hey Blam, please send me to Berlin to cover the opening, OK? Thanks.
[Modem Berlin via Boing Boing Gadgets]

1:05 PM on Thu Jan 17 2008
By Adam Frucci
3,686 views, 23 comments

Latest by FizzyPopMan: Reminds me of the 'Tate Modern' here in London (a former power station turned modern art gallery):- [www.tate.org.uk] They also have some interesting plans for an extension:- [www.tate.org.uk] more »

water tech

Hidden Water Tank Prevents Condo Tower From Swaying in the Wind

Want to prevent your own condo tower from bending back and forth like a stick of rubber? Easy, hide a 50,000 gallon water tank at the top and cover it up. That's exactly what developers did for San Francisco's One Rincon Hill, the tallest residential building west of the Mississippi River. The building uses the 416,000-pound tank to create tuned liquid damper (a first for the Western U.S.), thus preventing the building from moving around if a strong enough wind comes in from the San Francisco Bay. More »

10:47 AM on Mon Dec 31 2007
By Adrian Covert
6,906 views, 12 comments

Latest by LastVigilante: I saw something like this on Discovery Channel (NERD!) a few years back. From all that I can remember, which normally isn't much, it was a bunch of Japanese architects who were demonstrating the concept on a scale model. I more »

fiber-optics

TranslucentConcrete a Lighter Way for Load-Bearing

A mixture of traditional concrete and fiber-optics, TranslucentConcrete (not to be confused with translucent concrete—yes, I know) can be used by architects to make load-bearing walls a little more see-through than they normally are. Check the amazing effects in the gallery below. More »

5:37 AM on Tue Dec 18 2007
By AddyDugdale
10,536 views, 16 comments

media

The World's Tallest Building Has a Hell of a View

Not so long ago, our own Addy Dugdale showed us the Burj Dubai, what will be the world's tallest building of any kind when finished. Discovery Channel show "Really Big Things" got a slightly better view as the first camera crew allowed on top the building. And what can we say? It's high up there at 137 stories. And only 2/3 of the building is done. And Dubai is freakin' insane. [thedubailife]

8:40 AM on Mon Dec 10 2007
By Mark Wilson
39,974 views, 84 comments

architecture

Accordion-Shaped Building to be Squeezed into City of London

This is Ken Shuttleworth's absolutely phenomenal design for an ten-story office block. The squeeze box-shaped building will have a roof garden that contains a sundial whose gnomon will be provided by a monument that was built back in the 17th century. More »

9:21 AM on Fri Nov 23 2007
By AddyDugdale
7,501 views, 13 comments

spiderman architecture

75-Story Skyscraper Will House Overflow for New York's MoMA

Jean Nouvel unveiled his design for The Tower at 53rd West 53rd Street this weekend. As well as the now-obligatory apartments and seven-star swank-hotel, the 75-story glass-and-steel structure will have three floors dedicated to housing the overflow collection of the neighboring MoMA. Check the gallery below to see what the skyscraper, whose construction is expected to begin some time next year, is expected to look like.

More »

5:24 AM on Mon Nov 19 2007
By AddyDugdale
10,008 views, 12 comments

burj dubai

The Tallest Building in the World Looks Like a Stack of Pringles

On our blink-and-you'll-miss-it visit to the world's largest building site, aka Dubai, we stopped for a gawk at this, the Burj Dubai. Currently the tallest structure in the world, it stands at 156 stories and 585 meters high, but is expected to reach around 800 meters when finished. Designed by Adrian Smith, the tower continues the Armani-Samsung love-in, as the Italian designer is putting his name to a sexy hotel, while the Korean mega-corp is one of the three constructors on the skyscraper. But the cruelest cut of all is that Burj Dubai (burj means "tower" in Arabic) will be dwarfed by Kuwait's Burj Mubarak Al-Kabir, which will measure 1,001 meters (3,284 feet) when it is ready. But that's not expected to be until 2012 so, until then, size queens will be eyeing up Dubai. [Burj Dubai]

6:00 PM on Thu Nov 15 2007
By AddyDugdale
32,471 views, 49 comments

Latest by Ashan: And all of this was made possible by R&D done in the U.S., Japan and Europe. ftw!! Seriously though, this @ick contest is just hilarious. It's so epic and silly. Why build a mile high building? There more »

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