Magnus Larsson: Sand to Sandstone
Architecture student Magnus Larsson details his bold plan to transform the harsh Sahara desert using bacteria and a surprising construction material: the sand itself.
Not so new, but new to me – this video is pretty interesting. Imagine building with nature like this, and what that could mean for architecture and construction. Who’s to say that we won’t be programming these bacteria, etc, to perform increasingly complex & specific tasks – guiding them along a certain design trajectory while allowing for just enough randomness for unique and ‘natural’ results. We could be growing whole cities – which, needless to say, would be pretty dope.
Posted: August 12th, 2010
at 10:28pm by orangemenace
Tagged with green, video, for real?, TED talk
Categories: architecture,green arch,videos,landscape,design
Comments: No comments
C. Sinclair: Refugees of Boom-and-Bust
“At TEDGlobal U, Cameron Sinclair shows the unreported cost of real estate megaprojects gone bust: thousands of migrant construction laborers left stranded and penniless. To his fellow architects, he says there is only one ethical response.”
Posted: November 15th, 2009
at 11:36am by orangemenace
Tagged with green, sustainable, TED talk, Cameron Sinclair, human rights
Categories: architecture,green arch,videos
Comments: 1 comment
Ted Talks: Architecture that repairs itself?
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAMrtHC2Ev0[/youtube]
Rachel Armstrong: Architecture that repairs itself?
Venice, Italy is sinking. To save it, Rachel Armstrong says we need to outgrow architecture made of inert materials and, well, make architecture that grows itself. She proposes a not-quite-alive material that does its own repairs and sequesters carbon, too.
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Rachel Armstrong is a medical doctor, multi-media producer, science fiction author and arts collaborator. Her current research explores architectural design and mythologies about new technology. She is working with scientists and architects to explore cutting-edge, sustainable technologies.
Armstrong’s hope is that, in the future, cities will be able to replace the energy they draw from the environment, respond to the needs of their populations and eventually become regarded as “alive” — in the same way we think about parks or gardens. Since “metabolic materials” are made from terrestrial chemistry, they would not be exclusive to the developed world, and would have the potential to transform urban environments worldwide.
Basically, this woman is working to put us all out of work…
::Video Sundays is a weekly feature here on AMNP. For more architecture-related videos, click on any Sunday in the sidebar calendar, or on the “videos” category in the archjutsu section. And don’t hesitate to submit suggestions for video features to architecture[at]myninjaplease[dot]com::
Posted: November 1st, 2009
at 10:46am by orangemenace
Tagged with tech, green, science, for real?, design, TED talk, engineering
Categories: architecture,green arch,tech,videos
Comments: 2 comments
TED Talks: Bjarke Ingels
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AYE3w5TWHs[/youtube]
While Bjarke Ingels’ TED talk doesn’t exhibit any work that will be ‘new’ to AMNP readers, I find this ninja incredibly entertaining – this video is definitely a good watch. I particularly enjoyed the beginning of the talk, where he discussed the idea that evolution is more important [to him, at least] than revolution in architecture – that we should improvise and adapt to changes as they occur. This then serves as the basis for his explanation of BIG’s design process, and the individual projects that he shows towards the end of the video.
From TED:
Bjarke Ingels is principal of BIG, based in Copenhagen. An alumnus of Rem Koolhaas’ OMA practice, Ingels takes a similar approach: experimenting with pure space, but never losing sight of the building as a solution to a real-world problem. His manifesto “Yes Is More” takes the form of a giant cartoon strip, 130 meters long, that reminds people to keep thinking big — to see all our modern problems as challenges that inspire us. (The manifesto is now available in comic-book form.)
His deeply-thought-out and often rather large works — including several skyscrapers and mixed-use projects in a developing section of Copenhagen, plus a project for a new commercial harbor-island — work to bring coherence to the urban fabric and to help their occupants and users lead better lives. Coming up, he’s designing the Danish Pavilion for Expo 2010 in Shanghai. The pavilion is described as “a loop, a velodrome and an interactive fairytale,”and — not surprisingly for a Dane — comes with 1,500 bikes that Expo visitors can borrow.
“We come under the impression that clash of opposites doesn’t bother you. On the contrary, you like to compromise them.”
~ WhATA.org interview with Bjarke Ingels
::thanks to our ninja Kai-Uwe over at BIG for hitting me with the link::
::Video Sundays, or VS, is a weekly feature here on AMNP. For more architecture-related videos, click on any Sunday in the sidebar calendar, or on the ?videos? category in the ?archjutsu?section. And don?t hesitate to submit suggestions for video features to architecture[at]myninjaplease[dot]com::
Posted: September 20th, 2009
at 12:54pm by orangemenace
Tagged with video, BIG, TED talk
Categories: architecture,featured ninjas,videos
Comments: 1 comment
Paul Romer’s ‘Charter Cities’
How can a struggling country break out of poverty if it’s trapped in a system of bad rules? Economist Paul Romer unveils a bold idea: “charter cities,” city-scale administrative zones governed by a coalition of nations. (Could Guantanamo Bay become the next Hong Kong?)
::Video Sundays, or VS, is a weekly feature here on AMNP. For more architecture-related videos, click on any Sunday in the sidebar calendar, or on the ‘videos’ category in the ‘archjutsu’section. And don’t hesitate to submit suggestions for video features to architecture[at]myninjaplease[dot]com::
Posted: August 30th, 2009
at 8:27am by orangemenace
Tagged with video, urban/master planning, city, TED talk
Categories: architecture,urban/master planning,videos
Comments: No comments
