The Japanese have long endured crowded cities and scarce living space, with homes so humble a scornful European official once branded them rabbit hutches.
But in recent years, Japanese architects have turned necessity into virtue, vying to design unorthodox and visually stunning houses on remarkably narrow pieces of land. In the process, they are also redefining the rules of home design.
Few Americans would consider a parking-space-sized lot as an adequate site to build a house. But in Japan, homes are rising on odd parcels of land, some as tiny as 300 square feet.
Yet the term “house” doesn’t really do justice to these eye-catching architectural gems, fashioned from a high-tech palate of materials like glittering glass cubes, fiber reinforced plastic and super-thin membranes of steel.
We are always inspired over here at Olive by great design, especially when it involves sustainable and inovative techniques. We have seen buildings and homes built out of almost every material imaginable, so I am not sure exactly why this idea caught our attention.
Portland-based Pacific Green Innovations is set to build up to 10,000 homes in earthquake-ravaged Haiti — out of paper.
The business was created in October 2009 to help bring a German-made product, known as a SwissCell, to the United States. The SwissCell is a building panel made from 100 percent recycled paper and coated in a tough, recyclable resin that makes it both fire and waterproof.
We cannot wait to see what great structures they come up with next using this great technology. We think it is great they are offering their ideas to help those in need down in Haiti. To read more about the company and the efforts they are taking on in Haiti, click here.
Like a shard of metal breaking through the earth’s surface, this beach cottage design (dubbed “Klein Bottle House”) by Melbourne-based architecture firm McBride Charles Ryan also breaks the boundaries of conventional residential architecture. Located in Rye, Australia, this modern vacation home is surrounded by sand dunes and beaches along the Mornington Peninsula. Click here to read and see more.
The Glacier is the latest in prefab sustainable homes, by Method Homes. This eco sustainable home in Washington is helping homeowners stay ahead of the game by going green and doing it in style. This wood cabin design features a cedar exterior and interior; Eco Top counters; bamboo and cork floors; bamboo cabinets and shelving; no- and low-VOC paints and stains; radiant flooring; and marmoleum and recycled tile.Click Here to Read and See More.
Zaha Hadid Architects have unveiled designs for a new opera house and cultural centre in in the new Seven Pearls district of Dubai. The development will be built on an island in Dubai Creek, just off the Seven Pearls mainland, and will accommodate a state of the art opera house, arts gallery, theatre, performing arts school and themed hotel.
The design will house all of the facilities of the centre within a single structure with a gentle winding form which is both a part of the landscape yet very much a distinct element on the skyline. The centre consists of two peaks correspond to the opera house and the theatre evoking images of sand dunes or mountains. The surrounding landscape forms build up gently to the main building and will consist of open parkland as well as parking facilities and a monorail station which will be integrated into the landscape.
Another wonder project under the aesthetically charged Zaha Hadid. Beautiful.
As seen on one of our favorite content/design/channels – Cool Hunting, here is a great example of design, interior, retail and experience design.
Nike – fusing culture, interaction and brand values with cutting edge fashion, design and immersion – a true winner. The textural sole applications and modeling, the suspended runner’s numbers/mobile installation – it’s wonderful.
We’ve been talking about it, but nooooo…you haven’t wanted to listen. Well, it’s here, Augmented Reality (AR) now becoming (fast becoming) a household term. Esquire’s new issue, takes advantage of this technology by featuring several AR nodes throughout it’s issue.
You download the software, quickly from their website – and then, as you find a graphic node in the issue, you hold it up to the camera/screen – and Voila!
You are immersed into the world of celebrity with Robert Downey Jr. or a beautiful girl sharing jokes with you, each different, depending on what time of day you are engaging online with her. It’s brilliant – a great selling tool, and just imagine the future of AR and what it might provide to your customers. We are working on a few AR concepts with some great partners and hope to work on some great projects to come.
Although I was not familiar with the design style of Neil Barrett, I am now – since his Tokyo showroom is making waves across design/architect circles. A very experiential space, and the use of materials and grand gestures of ethereal pleats and waves – the design serves as a directional guide through the space/retail environment.
This will definitely be on my list of things to see next time in Tokyo.
Architect’s Overview:
Our concept for the Neil Barrett flagship store in Tokyo is based on the minimal cut of the brand’s fashion design and parallels its approach in using the same design parameters of fixed points, folding, pleating and cut outs.
Rather than defining a single room or space, our design creates a circular passage allowing the customer to experience the space in multiple ways and interpretations.
Furniture staged in key points throughout the store creates the spatial concept of a narrow enclosure changing to an open condition. In two formal elements the design shifts between architecture and sculpture, where a compact mass of surface layers unravel and fold to form the shelving display and seating. The emerging folds will be used as display area for the NB accessory collection.
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