London New Buses - Aston Martin + Norman Foster

Architect in auto-design!

Aston Martin and famed Architect Lord Norman Foster have won a competition to re-design London's iconic double-decker buses, which were discontinued three years ago. The mayor of London hopes to have the new buses up and running in time for the London Olympics in 2012. According to the AP, in the Aston / Foster model (above), "Passengers sit on reconstituted leather upholstery while gazing through a glazed roof coated with solar panels to power heat and air conditioning. The rounded bus also boasts wood flooring and a saloon-like lower deck that the architect hopes will create 'a tactile living room feel.'" Critics of the plan have pointed out the cost of the chic new conveyances could amount to $160 million a year.

Michel Rojkind

"If a design doesn't turn me on, something is wrong. And if i can't imagine myself using the space I'm designing, i won't present it." - Michel Rojkind

Ernstings warehouse by calatrava

Location:

Coesfeld, Coesfeld (Kreis), North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

FUnction: Warehouse

Static as warehouse, dynamic like a opera house!....

A Block of aluminum like box spreading its 'roller shutter' like a wavy wings welcoming the trucks going in and out!

Mechanical in architecture!

Revolving Door Generating Power

Harvesting the kinetic energy generated by crowds of people is one of our favorite approaches to renewable energy. Recently Netherlands-based Natuurcafé La Port installed an energy generator in a rotating door, so every time someone walks in for a cup of coffee, they give just a little bit of their energy back to the coffee shop. We keep saying that solving the problem of global warming will require that we open up new doors in the field of renewable energy, but we must admit that we never expected to mean it literally!

The door was part of the refurbishment of the Driebergen-Zeist railway station designed out by architecture firm RAU and built by Boon Edam. The door is expected to generate around 4600 kwh of energy each year, which may not sound like much - but every little bit helps. To enhance the design, the team decided to include a transparent ceiling to show how the system works, and LEDs display the amount of energy that it is generated each time someone walks in the door.

Aon (Amoco) Center, Chicago

Architects: Edward Durell Stone, Associates The Perkins and Will Partnership.
83 Floors at 346m height.






Cladded with Marble, and this quickly proved to be an unsuitable cladding for the harsh Chicago winters. In 1974, just a year after completion, one of the marble slabs detached from the façade.

Later The entire Building is replaced with Granite.