Why Every Architect Should Read Walter Benjamin
CategoriesArchitecture

Why Every Architect Should Read Walter Benjamin

Judging is now underway for the 10th Annual A+Awards Program! Want to earn global recognition for your projects? Sign up to be notified when the 11th Annual A+Awards program launches. 

The word “modernity” was coined by the French poet Charles Baudelaire, who used it to describe the “fleeting, ephemeral experience of life in an urban metropolis.” In his 1867 essay “The Painter of Modernity,” Baudelaire exhorts artists to reject classicism and embrace the flickering, tragicomic life of the streets. He argues that the modern artist must become a flaneur, or connoisseur of urban life, if they hope to produce work that is vital and alive. 

Watercolor and ink sketch by Constantin Guys (1802 – 1892). Baudelaire named Guys the ultimate “painter of modernity” due to the interest he took in city crowds.

For Baudelaire, the quicksilver newness of modernity was made possible by architecture, by the way his fellow Parisians moved through built spaces. And the most interesting built spaces in Baudelaire’s Paris were the arcades. Constructed in the first half of the 19th century, the Paris arcades were covered walkways that housed various shops, newsstands and cafes. With vaulted ceilings made from glass and iron, the arcades offered an elegant respite from the grime and noise of the city street. In guidebooks to Paris from the time period, the arcades were always listed as a major attraction. 

The philosopher and critic Walter Benjamin believed the arcades were the most important architectural form of the century. In his unfinished masterpiece, The Arcades Project, written between 1927 and 1940, Benjamin attempts to reconstruct Baudelaire’s Paris using an experimental method, assembling thousands of textual fragments into a kind of collage. His goal was not simply to write a historical narrative, but to bear witness to the birth of modernity. The result is a fascinating meditation on the dialectical relationship between architecture and history — a subject that is just as relevant today as it was in Benjamin’s time. 

1831 engraving of the rotunda at Galerie Colbert. Along with the nearby Galerie Vivienne, Galerie Colbert was one of Paris’s largest and most famous arcades.

The most unique aspect of The Arcades Project is its structure. The book opens with a series of impressionistic but otherwise conventional essays, establishing the historical period with overviews of subjects such as the origin of the arcades, the history of the Paris Commune, and Baron Haussmann’s dramatic redesign of Paris between 1850 and 1870, in which many of the arcades were destroyed to make way for the wide boulevards and uniform city blocks that define the city as we know it today. After these sections, however, things take a more radical turn. 

The majority of the text is comprised of pieces that Benjamin calls “convolutes,” which are textual fragments that he collected through his vast reading on the period. Quotations from newspapers, letters and academic texts are placed alongside the author’s own reflections. The fragments are ordered by an alphabetical system, with the letters corresponding to different topics. For example, section A concerns the arcades; B is about fashion; and C, Ancient Paris and the Catacombs. Some of the sections combine topics in an idiosyncratic way, such as D, which covers both boredom and Nietzsche’s concept of “Eternal Return.” A number of fragments are cross-referenced, corresponding to more than one letter, which allows readers to see how these different ideas relate to each other, like points in a web or constellation. 

When Walter Benjamin wasn’t strolling through the arcades, he spent most of the 1930s in Paris’s public libraries and archives.

All told, The Arcades Project isn’t written so much as constructed, like a building. The ordering system of the convolutes resembles the directory of a massive shopping mall. Readers of this book do not follow a narrative or argument, but move through a kind of endless exhibition. They enter into the period, discovering it for themselves. 

The book begins with a note that the majority of the Paris arcades were built in the “decade and a half after 1822.” Readers learn that the arcades were made possible by the “boom in the textile trade” and “the advent of building in iron.” This was long before Baron Haussmann’s transformation of Paris. The arcades really belong to an earlier era, before the Second Empire, before even Baudelaire.

As Benjamin explains, Paris in the 1820s was a filthy, crowded, “subterranean” city, prone to outbreaks of cholera and revolution. And yet the arcades, which were open to the public, were glittering modern spaces, temples of the new religion of consumerism. At their entrance were boot scrapers, simple iron tools built into crevices in the wall that visitors would use to scrape the city muck off the soles of their shoes, a type of ritual cleansing.

Galerie Colbert in 1900

It was in the arcades that the flaneur, Baudelaire’s archetypal city wanderer, could contemplate the crowd as an aesthetic spectacle. Urban life, in its messiness and variety, now had an elegant stage on which it could be observed. 

The iron and glass ceilings of the arcades suggested that these spaces were harbingers of a utopian future. As Benjamin points out, the only other place city dwellers were likely to encounter this type of construction was in exhibition halls such as the Crystal Palace, in which new technologies were often debuted. New technologies were introduced in the arcades as well. Benjamin notes that “they are the scene of the first gas lighting.” 

Passage Verdeau today. This was one of Benjamin’s favorite arcades to visit as it was home to dozens of bookstores and antique shops. Built in 1847, it was one of the last arcades to be constructed.

In a fascinating paragraph, Benjamin argues that the appearance of “the new” always draws the imagination back to “elements of prehistory, that is of a classless society.” A dream about the future is always also a wish to recover what one has lost. Benjamin believes it is no coincidence that socialist thinking — especially of the utopian variety — exploded in France at the same time that the arcades appeared. Charles Fourier’s famous phalanstery, his scheme for a self-contained, egalitarian living and working community, was essentially “a city of arcades,” Benjamin argues. It was the arcades that showed Fourier that variegated human activities could be organized under a single roof. 

1826 floor plan of Galeries Colbert and Vivienne

When Benjamin mailed his early drafts of The Arcades Project to colleagues, many found it baffling. Why give all this attention to 19th century shopping malls? How was this relevant at a time when fascism was on the move all across Europe? Walter Benjamin was a German Jew and a committed Marxist. When he wrote The Arcades Project, he was living in France as a political exile. And yet, he believed that the best use of his time and talent was to investigate the conditions that gave rise to modernity, especially the emergence of the commodity form. Here, he felt, he would uncover the deep roots of fascism, and perhaps better understand how it could be resisted.

Writing under the shadow of Nazism, Benjamin understood modernity differently than Baudelaire had. He had mixed feelings about it, or to use his terminology, he approached it “dialectically.” While modernity offered new possibilities for freedom, in the end it had created the conditions for fascism. Without modern technology, the Nazi regime would never have been able to exercise the level of destructive control that they did. Even the spectacle of the crowd, which Baudelaire had celebrated as a symbol of diversity, was menacingly transfigured into an image of uniform state power in the Nazi propaganda films of Leni Riefenstahl. The crowd, like so much else, had been engineered for totalitarian ends. 

When Walter Benjamin sat down to write his book, the spectacle of the urban crowd had been transformed into something menacing and authoritarian.

Something had obviously gone very wrong with modernity. What was it? This is the question Benjamin asks in The Arcades Project. Importantly, he doesn’t seek to answer it, at least not in any direct way. What he does instead is try to bring Baudelaire’s Paris to life with his collage method. His hope is that these juxtapositions of facts, quotations, and speculative commentaries will cause a “dialectical image” of the period to “flash up” in the reader’s mind, allowing them to see things that cannot be described in a straightforward way: the diverted hopes and buried possibilities of the period. 

The Arcades, as a site of commerce, played an important role in the history of the commodity form. This uncanny photo of a Parisian storefront was taken by the street photographer Eugene Atget in the early 20th century.

Benjamin saw the modern world as a kind of dream, or “phantasmagoria,” in which the true relations between people are obscured by capitalist ideology and commodity fetishism. The arcades, then, were the earliest dream factories, a spectacle of consumption in which the actual history of the objects on display, and the labor that went into producing them, was deliberately concealed.

Visitors to the arcades were encouraged to think of themselves as consumers, maybe even flaneurs, but never as exploited workers. While the form of life Baudelaire celebrated produced flashes of revolutionary possibility, in the end it had lulled the masses into a false consciousness, preventing them from taking hold of their own destiny. 

The goal of The Arcades Project was to snap readers out of the capitalist dream so they could resist the fascist nightmare. Like Freud, Benjamin believed that one needed to descend into the murky depths of the past in order to recover the insights they needed to move forward. If  there is one sentiment that runs through the project, it is hope — hope of a desperate sort. 

Galerie Vivienne in 1905

In 1940, Walter Benjamin died at the age of 48 in Portbou, Spain while in police custody. He was fleeing Nazi-occupied France when he and his companions were arrested by Spanish authorities, who told them that they would be deported back to France the following day. Believing he would be sent to a concentration camp, Benjamin took a deliberate overdose of morphine in his prison cell. However, the next day his companions were all released and allowed to continue on their journey to America. If Benjamin had held on just one more day, he could have traveled with them. 

The tragic story of Benjamin’s death is often told with the suggestion that it carries a poignant lesson. However, I never understood what that lesson was supposed to be. So in lieu of commentary, I am simply going to leave it here, as Benjamin would have, as a stray piece of the historical puzzle. 

Walter Benjamin’s work remains an important resource, not only for philosophers and cultural critics, but for architects. Architects today would do well to think about cities the way Benjamin did, as living collages that place the present in conversation with the past. If architects studied Benjamin, they would learn to see their projects not as stand alone entities, but as points of light within a vast, ever-shifting constellation. 

Judging is now underway for the 10th Annual A+Awards Program! Want to earn global recognition for your projects? Sign up to be notified when the 11th Annual A+Awards program launches. 

Reference

Drones for middle-mile delivery – Springwise
CategoriesSustainable News

Drones for middle-mile delivery – Springwise

Spotted: When we think about drone delivery, we tend to think about last-mile delivery – from the store or fulfilment centre to the customer. However, FedEx is now looking at using drones for the middle mile – from port to warehouse or distribution centre. The giant logistics company is partnering with hybrid vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft manufacturer Elroy Air to develop autonomous drones capable of delivering cargo weighing from 136 to 227 kilogrammes over distances of up to 300 miles.

The middle mile delivery will be handled by Elroy’s Chaparral hybrid-electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft. Chaparral is equipped with all-electric propulsors, a turboshaft jet engine, and a generator, which is used to boost power during take-off and landing. The Chaparral uses lightweight cargo pods that are pre-loaded. These are then autonomously picked up by the aircraft, reducing the human workload. The drone aircraft also does not require airports or charging stations, allowing it to deliver to a wide range of locations.

Elroy Air is currently working on ways to integrate its aircraft into FedEx’s existing system. This will include tackling logistical issues such as how to decide what freight goes on the Chaparral, how many aircraft will be needed at each location, and how to organise flight times and loads for maximum efficiency.

The VTOL market is heating up, and while Elroy’s Chaparral is out ahead on development of middle-distance drones, other companies are also using drones to streamline logistics. Kawasaki recently completed proof-of-concept testing on its autonomous drone helicopter with its own last-mile delivery bot. And startup Natilus is developing an autonomous cargo plane that will be able to carry up to 3,855 kilogrammes over a distance of 1,667 kilometres. 

Written By: Lisa Magloff

Email: elroyair.com

Website: https://elroyair.com/

Contact: elroyair.com/#contact

Reference

Natural rubber made from dandelions
CategoriesSustainable News

Natural rubber made from dandelions

Spotted: More than 99 per cent of the world’s natural rubber is made from latex derived from rubber trees – almost all of which grow in southeast Asia. The tyre industry uses around 70 per cent of this rubber – and demand is growing all the time, raising several issues related to sustainability, governance, social, and economic practices. One major purchaser of natural rubber is The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. Goodyear has previously committed to sourcing the rubber sustainably, and now the company is partnering with the US Department of Defense (DoD), BioMADE, the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), and Farmed Materials to develop a domestic source of natural rubber.

The programme will focus on developing Taraxacum kok-saghyz—a species of dandelion also known as TK—as an alternative to natural rubber trees. Farmed Materials, which develops agriculturally derived and sustainable high-performance polymers, has shown good results from pilot programmes using TK. Now, with funding from the DoD, Farmed Materials will speed up development of TK-based rubber – beginning with the planting and harvesting of TK seeds in Ohio.

While it takes rubber trees around seven years of growth before the latex can be harvested, the TK dandelions can be harvested every six months. They can also be grown in a more temperate climate than rubber trees. The natural rubber produced from the programme will be used to produce military aircraft tyres. These will then undergo rigorous testing by the AFRL to ensure they are fit for use.

“This partnership highlights how BioMADE brings together companies of different sizes to solve critical problems,” said Melanie Tomczak, Chief Technology Officer at BioMADE. “We’re excited about this project, which holds a lot of promise for domestic rubber production and shows how bioindustrial manufacturing can help secure the domestic supply chain.”

Goodyear are not the only company working on a more sustainable alternative to traditional tyres. Last year, we covered a tyre made by Continental using a TK-based rubber, along with silicate from the ash of rice husks, and vegetable oils and resins. Previously, we took a look at a concept tyre that uses a liquid tread to repair itself and a recyclable rubber. 

Written By: Lisa Magloff

Website: corporate.goodyear.com

Contact: corporate.goodyear.com/us/en/about/contact-goodyear-corporate

Reference

CategoriesArchitecture

One Rendering Challenge 2022: The Finalists (Part 4)

Explore a further 25 extraordinary architectural visualizations, each one a Finalist in the 3rd Annual One Rendering Challenge. Let us know which are your favorites on Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #OneRenderingChallenge!

Previous 25 Drawings     Back to Start →


“All that is left” by Stavros Sgouros

“What can we do? What can we create that will last and assist future life?

Imagine a scenario when we have not survived. When the only left memory of our world are these species that do not touch it, that is set free in our skies and overlook our shadows.

This is a manmade structure. A vague memory of our last endeavors to save what will survive. A new home for the flying nomads of the new world. It could be located near a lagoon or a swamp. It could be frozen in time and forgotten. But they will find it. They will inhabit it.

“But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage can seldom see through his bars of rage”. Now we are gone and the bird is free.”

Software used: V-Ray, SketchUp, Photoshop


“Mitoshi Church” by hamed kamalzadehSeyed mohammad razavizadeh

“Mitoshi Church is located on the hills of Mount Agora, close to the Sagano bamboo forest. In Japanese, Mitoshi means outlook. An Outlook over the Agora heights. The structure is comprised of two local materials, bamboo and rope. Because of this, it is considered a live member of nature in Agora forests.

The design consists of 7 rows of bamboo with equal distances which along with the two-layer walls and ceiling, allow direct sunlight to be refracted and create moderate natural light inside the space. The visitors enter through a low-rise entrance, and as they move in the space, the ceiling height and natural light increase, and when the viewers reach the far third of the church, they find themselves facing the cross with the Agora Mountains behind it. Mitoshi Church is a prospect that compels man to meditate on himself and the universe around him in a spiritual atmosphere.”

Software used: Rhino, Lumion, Photoshop


“No Man’s Land” by Veronica Blas

“2050. After years of violent conflicts and natural cataclysms, the Earth is in short supply. The population has abandoned the destroyed cities and has returned to being nomads and to wander the Earth in communities. In this image, one of these communities is moving. A post-apocalyptic walking city inspired by the work of Archigram, but that also looks at literature, as the book “Mortal Engines”, and cinematography with “Mad Max”.

The advanced technologies for space research have lost their initial use and are now used to survive on Earth. The launch-pad is used as a base for buildings that have fallen into disrepair. Humanity has adapted to this new condition and a new way of living has evolved.”

Software used: 3ds Max, Corona Renderer, Photoshop


“Würstelstand” by Mihai Pop

“The project called “Welcome all Aliens” is inspired by the 2015 migration crisis in Europe.

I chose not to show the migrants directly, but to suggest their presence through something else, through a character. This is when I remembered an old sketch I made, an over-optimistic, extra small, self-sufficient, prefabricated shelter together with a similar sized greenhouse, where one could grow food. They were small, quirky, and could fit in any urban context … so I thought…

Migrants + minimal prefab shelters + being managed by birocratic European institutions = a horrible idea!!! Great! I could do something with that. ?

Würstelstand

Where would these shelters be placed around the city? Where would they fit? Maybe just randomly on the street… maybe replacing a news stand, or a Würstelstand, the one on your neighborhood street corner, anywhere theoretically, they don’t take up a lot of space.
They are not big.”

Software used: Cinema 4D, Photoshop, Other


“Longboarding in Lesotho” by Peter Crotty

“The days are spent longboarding down the steep mountain roads of Lesotho. All that can be heard is the rushing of the wind and the sound of skates over the tarred road. For them, it’s a moving meditation of pure muscle memory and physical freedom. After the sun sets, they return to their dwellings. A simple but beautiful stone wall home. The timber roofs create a warm acoustic quality for them to listen to their music and to sit back and relax. They are winding down and settling in for the night as the sun sets on the Lesotho hills. It’s a simple life… But it is so fulfilling.”

Software used: V-Ray, 3ds Max, Photoshop


“Radiant Flow” by Igor Neminov, Artem Zigert and Igor Neminov

“Entrada is in the heart of what is commonly referred to as “Silicon Beach”. This influx of influential companies is no surprise as Southern California boasts a lifestyle that can’t be duplicated anywhere else in the country. This image attempts to capture the mood and atmosphere which is very sacred to the evening time dwellers of the area.

It’s common for this region to be veiled by a thick marine layer, engulfing the streets and buildings in serene glows of lights produced by the fog, evoking an indescribable feeling, allowing one to feel the colors and light on a whole different scale. The creeping of the fog and the heavy traffic on the streets during the cold winter days not only slows time but has the power to suspend one’s whole reality. It’s phenomenological!”

Software used: 3ds Max, Corona Renderer, Photoshop


“Art Oculus” by Manuel Ramirez Kalionchiz

“Art Oculus is an NFT gallery created for the bold creatives in the crypto space. It holds pieces from several artists, both from the physical and the metaworld. All art pieces are carefully curated by our creative team and selected upon the requisite of building for a purpose much greater than themselves.

This collective mission is represented by our main display, Escaping Your Art by Kaliguro, which aims to portray the transition of the artist out of their own creative pieces to fulfill a greater mission. The project merges modern day technology with the traditional coexistence of an artists that exposed themselves to their viewers on a personal level, always to speak a little more about the inspiration behind the art piece we can see.

Experience the space by yourself: https://kazooie.io/project/art-exhibit?proj=dUUTYQ”

Software used: Lumion


“Los Angeles World Airport Studios” by Maggie PanFernando Such Riccardo Pistore Matteo Venanzio Fernando Gómez Laura del Barrio

“Kilograph worked with some of the best in class architects – Gensler, SOM, and RIOS – to bring the design for new LA sound stages to life and show the magic of movies at the same time. Complete with futuristic and wildly imaginative elements of science fiction and technology, the architecture here was to be secondary to the invisible activity within. Given the landscape, there was no way our team would miss out on the chance to work up a sci-fi theme with giant robots.

With those hero characters established, we wanted to include a level of human storytelling to the scene. This was brought about through depicting various stagehands working, actors reading their lines, and even a primadonna starlet refusing to come out of her trailer. The coloured lighting was designed to draw the viewer into the image and lead them to notice the smaller details of the shot.”

Software used: V-Ray, 3ds Max, Revit, Photoshop, Other


“A New Path” by Wellington Franzao

“Often we are guided by rules, but sometimes when we focus and go deep we perhaps find new paths. It may create so doubts, it’s risky, but the the unexpected result it can be gold. The image portrays a SUV speeding into the snow opening a new path to the MED center.”

Software used: 3ds Max, Corona Renderer, Photoshop


“The Sake House Museum” by Wellington Franzao and Henrique Driessen

“In all countries, paddies are worked by family labor alone and by the same methods that were used 2,000 years ago. We brought the tradition and honored it with a contemporary museum that represents all the families that spend their lives in the fields.”

Software used: 3ds Max, Corona Renderer, Photoshop


“Big Mac in Snow” by Quin Wu

“When walking in the cold snow, one craves nothing more than a hot and juicy burger. To help customer navigate in the stormy days, McDonald has built its flagship store in Siberia with a huge landmark logo. Somehow in this way the American symbolic consumerism brand adapts to Soviet Union’s brutalism style. It is hard to tell who converted who.”

Software used: Blender, Photoshop


“Surrounded” by Giovanni Croce

“The Crystal Palace in London, at an undefined time. The former glory of the World’s Fair or a dystopian future? Light breaks the scene and guides the eye through the vegetation and out of the architecture. The character represents each and every one of us, a human being in search for a place in the world. It is up to the observer to imagine what might lie outside, salvation or perdition?”

Software used: V-Ray, 3ds Max, Photoshop


“The World Without Us” by tom tamayo

“What will happened if humans stopped existing? What will happen to our planet, to our cities, to our industries and to nature if humans disappeared? I think we all know the answers. Nature will always prevail. Earth heals herself and nurtures renewed life forms, no matter the calamity caused by humans.”

Software used: 3ds Max, Corona Renderer


“Nature Is a Mirror in Which We Can Study Ourselves” by Tom Tamayo

“A structure located in the forest, invisible as possible and always lets the landscape speak at its maximum,
blending in the surrounding forest, merging into the landscape, and to be almost invisible in the deciduous forest,
allowing people to feel as close to nature as possible.”

Software used: 3ds Max, Corona Renderer, Photoshop


“At What Cost?” by Alberto Biasio

“In portraying new flamboyant buildings we usually choose a particular standpoint, trying to twist the reality.

Magnificent cathedrals have been built on the desert, defended from critics by slogans like architecture for architecture’s sake. (Usually a way to utilize the word architecture instead of money).

We should bear in mind that people, along with their wellbeing, are what makes architecture great. I’ve tried to turn subjects and moments around: the extraordinary architecture has been placed in the background and substituted by the ordinary, depicted in its – maybe – worst instant.”

Software used: 3ds Max, Corona Renderer, Photoshop


“Nature, We are One” by Kunal Bhoge and Swapnil Upare

“We created a reality when humans and nature live in union. Without the illusion of separation, we are in fact One. Humans live interwoven with natural surroundings, structures built around the living trees, connected with bridges, working within the environment rather than at its expense. In this place, human action is rooted in a responsible, sustainable existence, each person holding themselves accountable for their own actions. Without waste, without the unnecessary, this is pure, minimalist living. This is not architecture alone, but a way of life.”

Software used: 3ds Max, Corona Renderer


“Velvet Breeze” by Igor Neminov, Artem Zigert and Igor Neminov

“The inspiration for the image is to capture the synergy of existing and new architecture. To give the image a unique quality portraying an exploration of light and tones while capturing the ambiance and atmosphere of the journey.”

Software used: 3ds Max, Corona Renderer


“Crack of Dawn” by Igor Neminov and Artem Zigert

“The idea for this image was to create a unique perspective from a best friend’s vantage point. Visual storytelling enhanced and supported by drama and atmosphere.”

Software used: 3ds Max, Corona Renderer, Photoshop


“KOLLAGE” by Karim Rashid

“KOLLAGE is a multi-function, multi-disciplinary building. It is part office, part retail, part condo, and part apartment-hotel. The building is designed so that each section speaks about its function. The top section is a large rentable auditorium/meeting/hall room, whereas on the left, the projection is offices. The yellow section is an apartment-hotel, the blue ones are condominiums, and black and bottom are retail.

The idea is to animate the building so it speaks about its diversity of functions. In most multi-disciplinary buildings you do not really make a differentiation between the functions, so that was the main premise of Kollage. The other premise is to make views projecting in 360 degrees around the building, almost like a cubist painting, where we take the idea of a flat facade and we make it 3D.”

Software used: V-Ray, 3ds Max, Rhino


“Quarantine party” by Thomas Michielin

“The intention to imagine this space coincides with the first quarantine I was subjected to due to Covid, and let’s just say that being confined for weeks in a confined space with a newly purchased computer leaves room for imagination. The idea of designing a light show was always an unrealized dream, but one of those afternoons I came across a painting of St. Peter’s Basilica and realized how much fun I could have.

Weeks of modeling and rendering tests followed, I wasn’t in a hurry after all, all accompanied by mostly electronic music. I tried to concentrate in a single image the emotions I felt in those moments, the feeling of loneliness, the love for architecture, music and colors. The result is a space projected into the future as much as into the past. A space in which to dance!”

Software used: V-Ray, Rhino, Photoshop


“Freelance” by Ryan Banguilan

“This space depicts freedom.
Many people become freelancers during this stressful period.
As a freelancer, your life is like a roller coaster.
There’s a lot of adrenaline, and when it wears off, you really want to do it again, but there’s always that moment when you wonder why you did this to yourself.
As a freelancer, I’ve discovered more about myself than I ever imagined.
This inspires me to succeed.
It pushed me to always develop my talents and learn new things as a professional. That’s tremendously powerful.
It’s also made me a better person, both professionally and personally. It pushed me to constantly improve my skills and to never stop learning. Personally, it’s made me more appreciative.
It’s given me tremendous freedom. That made me rethink my dreams. You can work in the daytime or any time of the day you want. Feel free.”

Software used: 3ds Max, Corona Renderer, Photoshop


“Mirror of similarity” by Hamzeh Althweib

“Human nature tends to associate spatial architectural elements as; walls with rigidity and boundaries in order to define their spatial territory. Mirror of similarity is an installation that attempts to communicate active presence and in so little words some compassion through apartheid walls. Made by stripping individuals from their racial ideology and pre-defined prejudices, mirroring forms and shapes on the wall, done through utilizing motion detection in order to move the adjacent segments and thereby illustrating the actions of the person on the other side of the partied wall.”

Software used: Revit, Enscape, Photoshop


“22 Gordon Street” by Christian Coackley

“In light of enduring issues we are facing globally, such as a climate and ecological emergency, schools of architecture must nurture a culture of collaboration in architectural education to meaningfully address them. Therefore the drawing speculates on the third iteration of The Bartlett School of Architecture. In contrast to the building’s previous 2 iterations, Wates House (1975) and The Bartlett (2016), this next instalment of the school will be constructed over the course of a 1000 years by the students and tutors themselves.

The future generations of the building’s inhabitants will recover a lost material culture of hand-crafted ceramics. This interchangeable orchestra of students and tutors will weave themselves together through the poetic symphony of a shared material culture, ushering in a new era in architectural education. The Age of Belonging.”

Software used: Photoshop, Other


“Carbon Capture Refuge X” by Bless Yee

“War-ravaged by political upheaval and rendered nearly uninhabitable by natural disasters, the earth shuddered, and her refugees became ubiquitous.

A floating, sustainable, and habitable living infrastructure was developed. The CCRX Project (Carbon Capture Refuge X) was finally ready. At the heart of the CCRXs are direct air capture fans that extract carbon from the atmosphere and convert it into energy. The collected energy is then dispersed through neon strips that integrate with the walls, floors, and roofs of the structure. They are the veins that circulate utilities throughout the space, and they are the muscles that can open to light and air, close for inclement weather, or elongate to accommodate growth.

The CCRXs float along the earth’s troposphere, offering a home and a purpose to any survivors in its path – on a mission to rescue the earth and her inhabitants.”

Software used: Rhino, Photoshop, Twin Motion


“Afternoon Walk” by Peter Tran

“The image captures late afternoon vibes during the peak hours – a laneway with busy restaurants and shops, people catching up after work or going for a lazy stroll downtown. The image strives to create a vibrant yet peaceful feeling of what it would be like to be in a place like that during this exact time.”

Software used: V-Ray, Photoshop

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Reference

Giant algae-filled ponds sequester carbon
CategoriesSustainable News

Giant algae-filled ponds sequester carbon

Spotted: The past few years have seen a string of net-zero targets unveiled by some of the world’s largest companies. As many of these organisations will need to rely on carbon offsetting to reach their goals, this has created an enormous demand for high-quality, scalable solutions that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. These solutions come in all shapes and sizes – both nature-based and man-made. Now, UK company Brilliant Planet has developed one that has the potential to remove CO2 at a gigatonne scale.

The company captures carbon through enormous open-air ponds situated on coastal desert land. These ponds are teaming with photosynthesising algae that remove excess carbon dioxide from the air.

Brilliant Planet’s approach has a number of key benefits. First, it does not use fresh water, meaning there is no additional burden on water resources. Moreover, the ponds are situated in empty desert, employing under-utilised natural resources. The process also helps to de-acidify local coastal seawater.

Most importantly, the approach taken by Brilliant Planet is both cost-effective and verifiable – resolving a dilemma often faced by companies seeking to offset their emissions. “Nature-based solutions to climate change are normally the most scalable and cost-effective but it is often difficult to verify the amount of carbon removed by these methods,” explains Brilliant Planet CEO Adam Taylor. “On the other hand, man-made solutions such as direct air capture can be easily verified but are prohibitively expensive,” he adds.

Taylor argues that the company has found a way to deliver on all these requirements by delivering, cost-effectiveness and scalability in a way that is verifiable.

The company’s approach has certainly impressed investors who this month awarded the startup $12 million (around €11 million) in Series A funding. One participating investor, Toyota Ventures, pointed to the depth of the company’s fundamental research – which has included four years of trials at its three-hectare research facility in Morocco.

Other carbon capture innovations recently spotted by Springwise include liquid trees for urban environments, a new plan for storing carbon under the sea, and a startup that uses microbes to boost carbon sequestration.

Written By: Matthew Hempstead

Email: info@brilliantplanet.com

Website: brilliantplanet.com

Reference

Enscape 3.3 Takes Real-Time Architectural Visualization to the Next Level
CategoriesArchitecture

Enscape 3.3 Takes Real-Time Architectural Visualization to the Next Level

Enscape, one of architecture’s most popular real-time visualization, 3D rendering and virtual reality applications, just got even better. Its latest iteration, version 3.3, brings a plethora of enhancements for its existing features as well as a host of new functions, each designed to make real-time rendering more intuitive to use at every stage of the design process.

Enscape brings the disciplines of design and visualization together, creating a unified experience that enables designers to collaborate on their projects in a dynamic fashion, as well as communicating their ideas to clients in an easy-to-understand way.

“We’re always looking for new ways to support our customers’ design workflows,” said Petr Mitev, VP Visualization Product Group at Enscape. “With our latest release, we’ve automated some processes so designers can spend more time making the right decisions and less time gathering the data needed to do it. We will also continue to improve our core visualization and sharing platforms based on community feedback.”

So, what can users expect from the new and improved Enscape application? Here are some key new features to look out for:


Site Context

It’s now possible to import a project’s existing surroundings directly into renderings, using data from global geographic database OpenStreetMap. Users can enter a specific address or coordinates to immediately locate and import the surroundings, or select and import key landmarks, streets, or topography.


Alpha Channel Export

With the Alpha Channel Export, you can now render an image with a transparent background. This means your project can now be quickly and easily combined with any style of sky, clouds, and horizon line in post production, lending Enscape a new layer of flexibility for still renderings.


Education Assets and Materials

Enscape’s popular 3D asset library has been radically expanded to include an extensive collection of educational assets, including classroom furniture, toys, musical instruments, playground equipment, acoustic panels, and more. The Enscape Material Library, which was introduced in Enscape 3.1, has also been expanded with materials such as new wallpapers and various carpets.

While they will be categorized under Education and are perfectly suited for kindergarten, school and college projects, these assets and materials are also useful for a wide variety of other typologies, including corporate, hospitality and residential projects.

Besides these headline new features, numerous other refinements have been introduced to Enscape 3.3, each with the goal of improving ease-of-use and an improved end product for users.


Additional Features

In terms of rendering, visualizations including glass and water are now more accurate thanks to improved graphic capabilities; transparent materials now appear in reflections, providing a more realistic appearance. The use of a graphics card that supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing, such as NVIDIA RTX series and AMD RX6xxx series, is required. Further to this, the new “Material Overwrite” function enables users to replace Enscape material files within the Enscape Material Editor without the need to manually import and export them.

In terms of user experience, it’s now possible to ‘pin’ the Enscape rendering window and associated menus to the top of your modeling window, allowing for easy access to view real-time changes even if you’re not using two screens. New upload migration capabilities have also been introduced, enabling users to manage uploads, such as web standalones and uploaded panoramas, online efficiently.

Finally, Enscape 3.3 works seamlessly with the latest version of SketchUp, providing key compatibility with one of the industry’s most used 3D modeling applications. Throw in full Japanese language support, and the latest edition of Enscape is inarguably the most comprehensive release to date when it comes to usability across platforms and geographies.

To get a first-hand look at Enscape’s full suite of real-time capabilities, click here to download a 14-day free trial. You can find out more about every feature over at Enscape.com.

Reference

Round Up: Contextualizing the Rising Trend in Ring-Shaped Housing
CategoriesSustainable News

Round Up: Contextualizing the Rising Trend in Ring-Shaped Housing

Have your say in which architects will take home Architizer’s prestigious A+Awards: Public Voting opens this spring. Interested in next year’s program? Subscribe to our newsletter for updates.  

Recently, The Almanac by Sweco Architects Denmark made headlines for its conceptual community-centric approach to housing. Evoking themes associated with its namesake, the proposal features ring-shaped housing blocks with a large courtyard at its core. The lower floor of the building features cafes and other recreational spaces, tying it with the communal exterior spaces. The core also acts as the cultural center for each structure. The upper floor has a continuous balcony that connects to individual homes, all placed adjacent to each other along the ring form.

The Almanac by Sweco Architects Denmark

Like chawls found in Western India, the connected balcony on the exterior encourages neighbors to interaction. Additionally, the corridor on the inner side also forces people to walk by each other’s homes. Simply walking past the windows of other neighbors increases the chances of impromptu conversations and sharing of meals. Unlike apartments in big cities, it is almost impossible to not know who your neighbors are in this typology. Given the curved form, residents have the opportunity to interact with neighbors across the rings as well as those in the central garden.

The circular form has long been popular in architecture. Vernacular dwellings across the world were rounded, perhaps as an imitation of shapes and geometries found in the natural environment. But this form had several advantages as well. In comparison to a square or rectangular perimeter, a circular exterior has a lesser surface area, helping thermal conditions in cold climates. This shape also allowed for more connection points between the roof and the walls, making them stronger. These homes are also more resistant to strong winds, snow and earthquakes.

Image by ming yang via Pixabay

Over time the form of such buildings has evolved. Using a donut shape for multi-unit housing dates back to the 12th Century. The Tulou is a ring-shaped home made by the Hakka community in the Fujian province of China is one of the most well-known examples. There were some rectangular ones but the ring shape remained more popular. Given its robust walls and limited entrances, its structure was both built to protect its inhabitants and foster community living.

The building had small windows on the outside but was opened up inside. Each Tulou could have two to four floors. Made from thick load-bearing earthen walls, each building could easily house about 800 people along with other community spaces such as halls, wells and storerooms. Each Tulou was created for one Hakka clan and their extended family to live together. The uniform sizes of each home unit inside underscored the overarching design theme: unity.

Image by limo23 via Pixabay

In addition to protection and interaction, these structures were also very sustainable (primarily due to its durability). Today, these rammed earth structures are still standing. It should be noted that they have a minimal carbon footprint; in additional to sustainable material sourcing, the material structure itself also helps to regulate the temperature within. Furthermore, the unique donut shape allows ample light to enter the homes as well as in the common spaces, reducing the need for man-made light sources. There is also good circulation of the air through the entrances and the courtyard.

Apart from vernacular housing, the circular form with multiple units also found different uses through the 18th century. One such example is the Narrenturm in Vienna. The structure, built in 1784, was designed to accommodate psychiatric patients. This shape was thought to be helpful when trying to look at the occupants of the whole building from the center.

This idea was also the foundation for the conceptual Panopticon prisons, imagined by Jeremy Bentham. The building was to house prisoners in cells across the external ring and have a central watchtower for guards to observe prisoners from, much like an internal panorama. Fortunately, the use of the form has now reverted back to private homes, apartment complexes, museums and even commercial buildings.

62M by 5468796 Architecture, Winnipeg, Canada

Today, we’re seeing a renewed interest in this unique building footprint, and the idea of building a round housing structure is now popping up in cities across the world. Take, for example, 62M, a housing dormitory in Winnipeg, which resembles a flying saucer. The disk-shaped structure stands on tall columns to provide better views from the 40 studios within and help with climatic conditions.

The entrance of the building as well as the circulation elements are located at the center. Additionally, the continuous corridor was devised to reduce the alienation caused by connectors with dead ends and present opportunities for the residents to meet their neighbors. The circular form also reduces the external surface area, thereby making heating spaces more efficient in cold winters.

Tietgen Dormitory by Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects, København, Denmark

Similar themes are seen in the Tietgen Dormitory in Denmark. The structure comprises 360 residential units along the perimeter as well as some community spaces along the internal surface. Unlike previous structures in the article, homes in this dorm are staggered to create a sense of individuality. Several apartments are grouped together with a common community space that protrudes to help it stand out. While there is no common corridor inside, the circular form allows for increased visual connectivity.

The ring a ring a roses by GVultaggio

Lastly, a competition entry proposes a housing structure that increases interaction with the landscape as well as other residents. The different homes in the ring are placed at different heights and enclose the central space, creating a secured courtyard. The spaces on the lower level are classified as day-time functions whereas the upper level is for night-time or private functions.

All of these new structures draw on historic precedents but also bring new 21st century insights into the fold. While ringed housing complexes may never be a dominant residential floorplan in our cities, the host of design benefits suggest that this upward trend will bring more user-friendly, community-building housing stock to urban areas in the coming years.

Have your say in which architects will take home Architizer’s prestigious A+Awards: Public Voting opens this spring. Interested in next year’s program? Subscribe to our newsletter for updates.  

Reference

An energy-harvesting wearable made from recycled waste
CategoriesSustainable News

An energy-harvesting wearable made from recycled waste

Spotted: The global market for smart wearables is forecast to reach $42.3 billion (around €38.9 billion) by 2028. These devices will undoubtedly improve our lives through greater connectivity and convenience. But more electronic devices mean more demand for raw materials such as iron, copper, and gold – something which is increasingly emerging as a problem.

To tackle this, researchers from the University of Surrey, are explored how recycled waste materials can be used to make wearables by developing and testing a prototype wrist device made from discarded paper wipes and plastic cups.

The prototype is powered by energy harvested from the wearer’s movements. The device contains materials—called Triboelectric Nanogenerators (TENGs)—that become electrically charged when they rub against one another, in a process known as electrostatic induction. This charge is used to power the device – which currently transmits morse code. In the future the prototype could be developed into a smart watch.

“It won’t be long until we have to ask ourselves which of the items we own are not connected to the internet,” explains Dr Bhaskar Dudem, project lead and Research Fellow at the University of Surrey’s Advanced Technology Institute (ATI). “However, the current internet-of-things (IoT) revolution highlights the simple fact that our planet doesn’t have the raw resources to continue to make these devices which are in such high demand.”

Wearable innovations recently spotted by Springwise include
a biosensor
that can measure emotional data, a wearable
sensor for tracking stress, and a wearable
that uses the human body to power electrical equipment.

Written By: Matthew Hempstead

Email: mediarelations@surrey.ac.uk

Website: surrey.ac.uk

Reference

What’s Yellow, Blue and Red All Over? Showcasing Sweden’s Stunning Scarlet Architecture
CategoriesArchitecture

What’s Yellow, Blue and Red All Over? Showcasing Sweden’s Stunning Scarlet Architecture

Architects: Want to have your project featured? Showcase your work through Architizer and sign up for our inspirational newsletter.   

The color red has been a part of residential architecture in Sweden since the 16th century when Falu red paint was first created from the residue found in copper mines in the country’s Falun region. Locals realized that this reddish sludge, when treated correctly, formed a paint that was very affordable, durable, weather-resistant and also helped mimic the appearance of brick houses that were owned by wealthier families.

Now, that particular shade of red is iconic and is knowingly used to help houses stand out in the verdant landscape. Today, the tradition continues evolving. Shades of Falu red now coats a variety of Swedish structures ranging from small homes and barns to large-scale university and apartment buildings. Here are a few buildings that illustrate the timelessness and exuberance of the color.

Images by Johan Fowelin

The Pavilion by Marge Arkitekter, Stockholm, Sweden

Unlike traditional pavilions, this Stockholm structure is stacked like a building. It is conceived to become the focal point of the redesign of the city block around it. The different levels help accommodate the slope of the site and provide access to visitors from both sides. The rouge tone helps it stand out among the beige and brown hues of the buildings around and also acts as a beacon for the citizens. The patterned exterior, created in collaboration with artist Gunilla Klingberg, is made of red-dyed concrete. The language is kept consistent by painting the awnings and window frames as well.

Späckhuggaren / House for a drummer by Bornstein Lyckefors Arkitekter, Kärna, Sweden

Coated in the traditional Falu red color, this house was designed for a single father of two. At one point, the site housed an old farm stall and a warehouse that was destroyed in a fire. The form of that warehouse is what inspired the design of this house. While the home appears heavy and solid from the outside, the interiors are open and airy. The spaces inside vary in height and there are mesh-covered gaps between levels to allow light to penetrate diagonally across floors.

Images by Ulf Celander

Uppgrenna Naturehouse by Tailor made arkitekter, Uppgränna, Sweden

This café and event space is a remodel of a red barn that was extant on the site. The red base, reminiscent of the previous structure, is given a modern facelift with the addition of a large greenhouse on top. The addition of panels to the base and doors not only helps maintain the barn aesthetic but also helps reduce heat radiation. On top, the greenhouse is equipped with a sewage and waste recycling system that also aids the growth of plants within. This eliminates the need to be connected to the municipal sewage system.

Images by Åke Eson Lindman

Passive Townhouses in Vallastaden by Kjellgren Kaminsky Architecture AB, Linköping, Sweden

The townhouse is broken up into four different apartments, with each one showcasing a slightly different personality. The continuous volume is broken up into four parts using separate roofs and façade patterns. These patterns are created using a mix of black, bright red and brick-toned tiles. The individuality of the apartments is also reflected in the kitchens and bathrooms inside. Additionally, this building features a courtyard, garden and storage space.

Tower on the Ting by Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB, Örnsköldsvik, Sweden

Niklas Nyberg, a local builder, bought a courthouse that was built in 1967 after discovering it was rarely used and hoped to construct an apartment building on top of it. Taking inspiration from one of his favorite artists, Bengt Lindström, the architect set out to design a multidimensional apartment block. The square plan of the building is broken up into nine parts like a hashtag. Each level of the structure is made up of five apartments placed around a central block. The exterior is covered in glazed ceramic tiles in colors found in Lindström’s artwork.

Images by Tord-Rikard Soderstrom and Åke Eson Lindman

Kuggen by Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB, Gothenburg, Sweden

The colorful glazed terracotta panels on this university building almost make it appear as if it is in motion. The red tones are a nod to the wharves and the harbors in the region and the other tones help add dimension and contrast. The structure is shaped like a tapered cylinder to shade the lower floors and increase floor space. The upper levels of the southern portion of the building project a bit further than the others to provide more shade throughout the day. Similarly, the triangular windows emerged from lighting considerations; they are designed to draw in sunlight from the ceiling and ensure that it reaches the building’s core. Meanwhile, motion-activated lights and ventilation systems help to conserve energy.

Moderna Museet Malmö by Tham & Videgård Arkitekter, Malmö, Sweden

The new branch of the Swedish Museum of Modern Art stands is a remodel of an old electricity station. The remodel is marked with the addition of a bright vermillion cubical extension with a perforated façade placed right next to a traditional entrance. The larger perforations on the lower level help the museum’s sign stand out as well. The floor is glazed to filter the sunlight coming in and the same vibrant hue is painted across every surface as well as the furniture inside the café. The other exhibition spaces are painted white or other neutral tones, intentionally creating a contrast.

Fire House by Ulf Mejergren Architects (UMA), Stockholm, Sweden

After the previous outhouse burned down, the architect decided to rewrite the story of its demise in the replacement design. The client’s requirement for a red shed was taken up a notch by adding recycled beads, arranged to mimic a burning blaze, on the walls. This was paired with lights to bring this composition to life. In addition to being a point of conversation, the faux fire also helps keep the deer and rabbits away. The effect produced was so realistic that the owners had to inform their neighbors that it was art and not actual fire when they called the fire brigade.

Architects: Want to have your project featured? Showcase your work through Architizer and sign up for our inspirational newsletter.   

Reference

Innovation and SDG 3: good health and wellbeing
CategoriesSustainable News

Innovation and SDG 3: good health and wellbeing

Between 2000 and 2019, global life expectancy increased by more than six years. And over the long term, average life expectancy has increased from less than 30 in 1770 to over 70 in 2019. Simply put, people are living long than ever – a testament to the exponential gains in medical knowledge that have accompanied our modern age.

But while the overall story of global healthcare is a positive one, the COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us not to be complacent. Aside from the immediate impact of the crisis, huge disparities remain between different healthcare systems, and the pandemic has highlighted varying levels of resilience and preparedness. Moreover, the toll of endemic infectious disease remains high in some regions. In 2020, 1.5 million people died from tuberculosis, 680,000 from AIDS-related illnesses, and 627,000 from malaria. And, while people are living longer, increases in the number of years a person can expect to live in good health have not kept pace with overall life expectancy.

Global health and wellbeing challenges therefore remain, and innovation will play an important role in tackling them – from artificial intelligence that streamlines diagnosis to clothing that helps to prevent malaria.

Health and AI

One major frontier of medical innovation is artificial intelligence (AI). The AI in healthcare market is forecast to reach $64.1 billion (around €59 billion) by 2027. AI is scaling up and automating tasks that could previously be completed only by human health professionals – freeing up the time of doctors and nurses, while helping to reduce human error. For example, a network of 11 medical facilities in Chicago, is trialling an AI system that flags and follows-up on signs in medical images of illnesses beyond those that were the subject of the original referral.

With AI applications growing in number, there is strong demand for large amounts of patient data to test and train algorithms. One startup is on a mission to provide the data needed for validation studies that test the effectiveness of AI healthcare applications – without compromising patient privacy.

United Nations SDG 3: good health and wellbeing

Mental Health

Recent decades have seen growing understanding of the importance of mental health. According to the World Health Organizatio(WHO), around 20 per cent of the world’s children and adolescents have a mental health condition. The seriousness of mental health is enshrined in target 3.4 within SDG 3 – which calls for the promotion of mental health and well-being. Innovation is helping to improve access to mental health services. For example, one app uses AI to provide clinically proven mental health therapy. The platform offers affordable psychological support regardless of location and time. 

Given the prevalence of mental health conditions among children, innovators are focusing on solutions tailored to the needs of families. For example, another mental health app helps families have difficult conversations using a framework based on empirical, evidence-based research and insights.

United Nations SDG 3: good health and wellbeing

Health coverage and access to medicines

According to the United Nations, less than half of the global population is covered by essential health services. And 2 billion people still lack access to medicines. Target 3.8 within SDG 3 sets the task of achieving universal health coverage, encompassing financial risk protection and access to services, medicines, and vaccines. Here innovation can help. For example, one Nigerian startup is aiming to make healthcare accessible and affordable in low- and middle-income countries. The company does this by bundling together several healthcare services—including insurance plans, telemedicine, and prescription delivery—under a single flat fee. Another, related issue is the prevalence of fake pharmaceuticals. An online marketplace combats this problem with a platform that connects patients with trusted, vetted suppliers.

Contagious disease

Much progress has been made in tackling contagious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. For example, over 6.2 million malaria deaths were averted between 2000 and 2015. Nonetheless, , according to the WHO, there were 241 million malaria cases in 2021. One startup is making bamboo sleepwear with insect repellent incorporated into the fabric. This helps to prevent mosquito bites that transmit malaria-causing parasites.

Tuberculosis (TB) is another disease that remains deadly. In 2020, an estimated 9.9 million people fell ill with TB. To enable TB diagnosis in remote regions, a Mexican biotechnology startup has developed an affordable diagnostic system that requires no electricity, costs less than €1 per test, and returns results in 15 minutes.

United Nations SDG 3: good health and wellbeing

Reproductive health

According to the WHO, every day in 2017, approximately 810 women died from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Of these deaths, 94 per cent were in low- and lower-middle-income countries. A key cause of maternal death is a lack of medical expertise, with over 55 per cent of countries having fewer than 40 nursing and midwifery professionals per 10,000 people. However, innovation can still play a role in improving reproductive health. For example, a new blood test—which can be taken around the sixth month of pregnancy—could signal the likelihood of a premature birth.

Words: Matthew Hempstead

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