Technacular Architecture

Building to your local resources [vernacular architecture]...we used to do that exclusively. This is how "salt box" houses came about in New England and adobe homes in the southwest. Over time we could venture away from location-specific design because technology allowed for ease of building and artificial temperature control. Technology allowed us to ignore what previously dictated how it was to live in a certain area. However, our growing concern for waste has us reconsidering our local requirements and resources and now we're seeing that the future is blending the two - technology and vernacular.

A recent excellent example of this hybrid model was recently covered on Inhabitat as welll as a write up on Malcom Wells from DesignBoom - which illustrates his approach to vernacular architecture and technology as expressed via his beautiful drawings (below):

Deep-Seawater Air Conditioning System to Cool Honolulu: "

Frigid seawater pumped in from the ocean’s depths will soon help cool more than half of the buildings in Honolulu’s downtown. Honolulu Seawater Air Conditioning LLC, which is undertaking the $240 million project, expects its technology to cut the Hawaiian city’s air conditioning electricity usage by up to 75 percent while slashing carbon emissions and the use of ozone-depleting refrigerants.

Read the rest of Deep-Seawater Air Conditioning System to Cool Honolulu


Malcolm Wells: passively heated underground buildings: "
tree bridges





explanation of underground architecture
image courtesy of malcolm wells
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Void as Connection

Henderson Waves bridge is a beautiful example of a pedestrian bridge. This space is like a park in the sky of Singapore. If we stopped to think of a bridge as a place to stop and think - then perhaps we'd have more poetic bridges like these and fewer baldly utilitarian structures that ironically become voids between two places. Enjoy the beautiful images of this bridge by RSP Architects and below that images from other great "green" bridges from around the world.




via DesignBoom


Top 5 Most Innovative Green Bridges on the Planet via Inhabitat

8th Street - Urban Seating

There are some things that you pass in your day-to-day that you fail to notice. Much of the urban landscape becomes backdrop - with bits and pieces that stick out and make you say "wow." Philadelphia has such a piece in its 8th Street subway station. These wall-mounted structures offer seating, leaning/shelf for tending to one's bag, all while being a striking visual dance of bent metal. They serve several purposes all while keeping the station easy to clean (wall-mounted = ease of floor cleaning) and I would imagine the pieces themselves are quite easy to maintain themselves with their shiny metal and all. These benches address security concerns as well by being open (for visibility for items underneath) and providing decent seating surface area while deterring unnecessary loitering without resorting to the "armrest" insert - a common and unsightly tactic.

In short, these benches address all of these concerns when designing for public spaces [security, maintenance, and user experience] and do so gracefully. Important to note, there are several designers who address this concern of urban seating - a particular designer was recently featured on DesignBoom and 3 of his pieces are shown below - compare them to the 8th Street benches and let me know what you think.

alexandre moronnoz: urban seating: Via DesignBoom
'muscle', 2009 by alexandre moronnoz
steel, zinc coat & heat-lacquered paint finish


'Y', 2006
retified timber with no surface treatment, external resistance. digitally milled.

interferences, 2007

interferences, 2007
steel, laser-cut, folded & welded. zinc electroplate & epoxy paint finish
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Lovely Underground

There is something particularly striking, to me, about underground environments. DesignBoom recently posted a collection of images and descriptions of some of the most amazing subway architecture around the world. I am personally biased towards the Munich system and had gone so far as to develop a music mix to compliment the slideshow of the Flickr photo-pool dedicated to the system, which you can listen to and view here. I've included a handful of the images from the article, but suggest you view the full article at DesignBoom to read up a little on these various systems, none of which are in the US (shock & awe, i know). Clearly, other parts of the world have higher ridership than here and thus have the resources and the requirement of their patrons to make their stations as interesting/appealing as possible. Of course, this type of unique beauty also brings non-traditional riders to the systems as well - I myself am a total public transit tourist. Can such striking elements bring more riders onto US systems? I believe so and think that we will see more of this type of work in this country in the future.


stockholm tunnelbana

t-centralen station (photo via flickr)

solna centrum station (photo via flickr)


munich u-bahn

westfriedhof station light installation by ingo mauer (photo via flickr)

candidplatz station (photo via flickr



bilbao metro

bilbao metro station by foster+partners

bilbao metro station by foster+partners


shanghai – bund sightseeing tunnel

trains in the bund sightseeing tunnel (photo via flickr)

bund sightseeing tunnel (photo via flickr)


tokyo - iidabashi station

iidabashi station by makoto sei watanabe architects

iidabashi station by makoto sei watanabe architects


moscow – komsomolskaya station

komsomolskaya station (photo via flickr)


komsomolskaya station (photo via flickr)


barcelona – drassanes station

drassanes station by on-a arquitectura

drassanes station by on-a arquitectura"

Mathieu Lehannuer - Design:Science

Design is problem solving, and there are many problems to be solved. Mathieu Lehannuer's TED talk shows you the diversity of design problems (following medical instructions, reducing interior pollution, creating a work environment that boosts creativity) and how he's solved them working hand-in-hand with scientists for the surest optimization of the solutions found. Lehannue's talk is brief and his enthusiasm infectious. Enjoy!

Libraries w/o Books

The book will always be around, the book is dying.
The library is dead, long live the library.
The culture of information has eclipsed the traditional notion of library doors as the gateway to knowledge. Perhaps now it would be better to think of the library as the repository of learning space - a place to do your knowledge acquisition, not necessarily the home of that knowledge.
The recent redesign of the interior of the library of the university of amsterdam - by studio roelof mulder and bureay ira koers - removes the books from their erstwhile position and creates spaces for all types of studying. There are computer terminals, quiet rooms, group areas plenty of light and spaces to take a break in as well - but the books? The RFID tagged books have been centralized to a beautiful warehouse-style space that allows students to find and check books out themselves - simplifying locating and re-shelving as well as reducing the burden on staff and increasing the hours during which books are accessible.

The excerpted images below show a sampling of the space including the striking book depository. This renovation is thought of currently as a tide-over project until a new library can be designed and built - but one has to wonder if the books would return to their traditional shelves after this?
Also consider as e-reader devices take greater prominence - more universities will hand out the devices loaded with textbooks and other material - all aiming at paperlessness - and further cementing the new role of the library - perhaps one day we'll refer to it as a gnariary or sciarca - but latin isn't my strong suit - had studied in a better space in 6th grade, perhaps it would be.

via DesignBoom
all images courtesy studio roelof mulder and bureay ira koers
















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Bare Shelves or at least the products on them

Imagine shelves stocked with bare minimal facades...attracted to the product itself, not its flashy colored sheath. It reminds me of the aesthetic of a Muji store - simple products, simple packaging, a place where the items aren't shouting at you


Paint-Free Coke Can Saves Energy, Reduces Pollution: Via Inhabitat

Designer Harc Lee has created a “naked” Coca Cola can that forfeits Coke’s typical bold red and white stripes in favor of au naturale silver. The aluminum can is created without using any paints or dyes, and stands to greatly reduce pollution and energy use associated with producing and recycling soda cans.