Innovation in lighting...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOl4vwhwkW8

The HIGH LINE in New York

Link to High Line website.

Using an old elevated Railway line which is situated within the Meat Packing District the High Line is a new public park in New York. It's a great experience of eco parks along with great views of the city and a vibrant art community venue...

When visiting New York check it out!

FRAME MAGAZINE - Issue 77

Look out for the next issue of Frame - No. 77 which is due in Novemeber/December of 2010. It's on "RADICAL RE-USE"...I think that's well worth shelling out £14 for a magazine....
Oh, they even sell it at WHSmith's in Huddersfield! Radical!

Dalsouple Rubber Flooring

Dalsouple Rubber Flooring website - click here

It's a common misconception among specifiers that modern rubber flooring is a 'natural' product. In fact, virtually all the rubber flooring on the market today is made from synthetic SBR, sometimes know as 'industrial rubber,' a petrochemical by product. In environmental terms, synthetic rubber compares quite favourably with its main competitors - PVC, and even linoleum. But with sustainability now high on the design agenda, Dalsouple has decided it's time to take a quantum leap in improving the environmental profile of its products, simply by going 'back to nature'...


[more on website link above!]

Plan B Architects - Orquideorama

The town of Medellin, Colombia, got another architectural addition. An amazing botanical garden with a superstructure called Orquideorama. This steel and wood structure in an hexagonal shape extends through its organic shape. The renovation was done by Plan B architects and the idea was to make a structure that looks like trees growing together at the branches. A stunning study on structure and scale, the project unites the micro and macro worlds through an elegant synthesis of cellular and architectural forms. The plants situated beneath each trunk are sustained via rainwater collected by the petals, and are protected from the elements by the translucent pine wood weave that is sourced from reforested lands. The project serves as a showroom, concert area and an exposition area


Link to website  
Please note that the Plan B Architects website is in Spanish so you might have to get Google to translate it to English for you!

Aluminum Foam

Aluminum Foam materials by Alusion company. Link to website.

A metal foam is a cellular structure consisting of a solid metal, frequently aluminium, containing a large volume fraction of gas-filled pores. The pores can be sealed (closed-cell foam), or they can form an interconnected network (open-cell foam). The defining characteristic of metal foams is a very high porosity: typically 75-95% of the volume consists of void spaces. The strength of foamed metal possesses a power law relationship to its density; i.e., a 20% dense material is more than twice as strong as a 10% dense material.

Carpet Tile House by RURAL STUDIO

Link to blog.

Film about Rural Studio Practice - click here

Fine architecture is usually reserved for wealthy patrons or grand civic spaces. But in 1993, Auburn University Professor Samuel Mockbee set out to change that. He founded The Rural Studio, which guides students in the design and construction of homes and community spaces in economically depressed Hale County, Alabama.




RURAL STUDIO WEBSITE