Frank Lloyd Wright

The Shelter Project at the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture. About Trevor Pan. Heloise Crista, the Art of Sculpting. LINK: Youtube

10 Incredible Castles Around The World

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Everyone knows about the Palace of Versailles in France, the Tower of London in England and the Forbidden City in China. These famous estates are awe-inspiring works of architectural mastery, not to mention historical goldmines.

Although these sites are some of the most famous, they're not the only destinations deserving recognition. Look past the tried-and-true and you may find other amazing structures. From Dracula's Castle in Romania to the Hearst Castle in California, here are 10 palatial spaces that are sure to inspire. LINK: The Presurfer

Meet the Owners - Frank Lloyd Wright's Heurtley House

One of the special featues found on the EEG dvd "Restoration of Frank Lloyd Wright's Heurtley House"

The dvd follows the five-year restoration process, showing the discoveries, obstacles, and state--of--the--art techniques used to bring this tarnished gem back to its former grandeur. LINK: Youtube

ARCHITECTURE - Frank Lloyd Wright - Guggenheim Museum

Rotunda of the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. LINK: Youtube

PUSH BUTTON HOUSE

“Illy collaborated with artist/architect Adam Kalkin to create a dramatic work of living art – the illy Push Button House, a five-room home with a kitchen, dining room, bedroom, living room and library constructed within a standard industrial shipping container. The home, which transforms at the push of a button, is created from recycled and recyclable materials and is the physical representation of illy’s dedication to sustainability, art and innovation.” LINK, Via: Youtube

THE PALLET HOUSE

“The Palettenpavillon by Matthias Loebermann is a structure made entirely from shipping pallets, ground anchors, and tie rods. Designed to be easily assembled and dismantled, and then entirely recycled at a later date, the resulting building is intended as a temporary meeting place. As the architect writes, the shipping pallets are ‘characterized by a complex geometry of open and closed surface portions,’ with the effect that a staggered stacking of each unit produces ‘interesting netlike structures.’ They add that the deceptively curvilinear form becomes a cave.” LINK

Minneapolis Architecture

Starting with Philip Johnson's acclaimed IDS Tower in 1972 (which is still, perhaps, one of the best looking skyscrapers in the country) Minneapolis has seen architecture play an increasingly important role in the fabric of the city.

Recent buildings by Jean Nouvel, James Dayton, Frank Gehry, Cesar Pelli and Herzog & de Meuron, as well as classics by Minoru Yamasaki & Associates, Gunnar Birkerts and Ralph Rapson, are making the City of Lakes also the City of Architecture. This video surveys some of the buildings that have transformed the cityscape as a result of the city's considerable investment in its skyline.

John Comazzi, a University of Minnesota Architecture professor, guides us around these Minneapolis landmarks, revealing some of the more interesting architectural details, facts and marvels. We start at the Walker Art Center's new addition by Herzog & de Meuron and conclude, fittingly, backstage at the new Guthrie Theatre building designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel, who had this to say about the project: "At the heart of the city, the Guthrie is a machine for capturing and radiating the enveloping vistas. It condenses the landscape that unfolds around it." LINK: Youtube

Isfahan

A CG movie inspired by the Persian Architecture. LINK: Youtube

Incredible Bamboo Architecture

“Bamboo is the stuff of green dreams these days. Not only is it a winning combination of strong, lightweight and flexible; it also scores highly in the sustainable stakes, being super fast growing and easy to harvest locally in many parts of the world. What’s more, it is increasingly being lauded for its aesthetic qualities. None of this is news to any architect worth their salt – but one in particular, Vietnamese virtuoso Vo Trong Nghia, stands out for his exceptional bamboo designs.” // LINK

Dynamic Architecture (Dubai)

Dynamic Architecture rotating floors - rotating tower in Dubai. LINK: Youtube

Amazing 400ft Tall Spherical "Cloud" Structure Proposed for London Skyline

An international team of architects and designers has created this stunning center-piece for London's 2012 summer Olympics village. Dubbed The Cloud, three 400ft towers would be joined by giant plastic spheres that serve as both observation decks and projection screens.

The giant bubbles would be structural, decorative, and be used to project weather info, spectator numbers, and race results. They'd be constructed from of a type of plastic called Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), the same stuff used to build the Beijing Aquatic Centre.

The Cloud has been shortlisted in the competition set-up by London's Mayor, and has been called "a sculptural spectacle, and a celebration of technology" by the senior curator of
architecture and design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

[The Cloud, Via: BBC, Via: Gizmodo]

Art meets nature in Norway

An ambitious series of stunning architectural designs is turning the spotlight on Norway's natural beauty. Gwladys Fouché takes a tour.
See some of the designs in our gallery.

From the road the metallic viewing platform looks like a snake zigzagging through the trees. It was so intriguing when I passed it that I stopped to take a closer look. Forty-five minutes later I am still here, awed by this architectural gem and how it fits in with the natural landscape.

Situated in a remote valley in northwest Norway, the Gudbrandsjuvet platform is part of a project to revamp 18 tourist highways across the country. Norway's national road agency is spending a staggering £1bn until 2012 on the project and has so far commissioned over 45 architecture and landscaping firms to come up with designs for panoramic viewpoints, picnic spots, rest areas and other installations. LINK

Linderhof Palace

"A small but immensely extravagant palace built by the "Night King"
Of the three palaces "Mad" King Ludwig II had built, the Linderhof Palace was the only one he saw completed. Unfortunately for him, it was also the smallest. Prior to the Linderhof Palace, the grounds had been home to the Konigshauschen, Ludwig's fathers' old hunting cottage. The cottage was torn down in 1869 in order to build Ludwig's Linderhof.


Though much smaller, the architecture of the magnificent palace is extravagant with ivory candelabra's and carpets made of Ostrich feathers. Inspired by Versailles, Ludwig created a mirror image of "Sun King" Louis XVII's bedchamber and styled himself the "Night-King." Like his Neuschwanstein Castle, the Linderhof was also deeply inspired by composer Richard Wagner. Many rooms sport the themes of some of Wagner's greatest works.

Amidst the forested mountainous terrain, Ludwig built huge ornamental gardens that borrowed styles from a number of other countries and eras. Perhaps the most extravagant is the "Venus Grotto" a man-made cave lake. Ludwig enjoyed rowing across it in a golden swan boat. Finished in 1886 Ludwig had 24 early electrical dynamos installed at great expense so he could change the color of the grotto at will. LINK

Creative Lifeguard Stations Around the World

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Bedsearcher has a collection of pictures of colorful and creative lifeguard stations that can be found around the world. Pictured above is one by engineer Ulrich Müther and architect Dietrich Otto at Binz, Germany. Müther was a prolific designer in the 1960s and was noted for his buildings composed of concrete shells.

Link, Via: The Presurfer, Via: Neatorama

Frank Lloyd Wright Lego Architecture Building Sets

Most of us don't have the engineering, design, or architectural chops to recreate any of Frank Lloyd Wright's masterworks, but we can anyway, thanks to these new Frank Lloyd Wright Lego Architecture Building Sets ($TBA). Licensed by the Frank Lloyd Wright Collection, these terrific sets — of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Fallingwater — were developed in collaboration with leading architects to be as accurate as possible, and come with booklets that not only tell you how to build you own model masterpiece, but exclusive archival historical material and photographs of each building, as well. LINK

Modern Architecture - Korean Pavilion for 2010 World Expo: Shanghai

Architects Mass Studies have unveiled their design for the Korean pavilion at Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China. The Korean Pavilion is situated in Zone A, directly neighboring the Japan Pavilion and the Saudi Arabia Pavilion, and in close proximity to the China Pavilion. The site is around 64,600 ft² (6000m²), and it is one of the largest lots within the expo compound. The pavilion will include a large exhibition space, VIP lounge, press room, conference room, restaurant, administrative facilities and a roof garden.

Read more on the Korean pavilion at the LINK.

Built w/Food: 10 Works of (Incr)Edible Architecture

If only the world of Willy Wonka were real, with skyscrapers made from caramels, chocolate rivers and cities built of shortcake and whipped cream. Living in an edible world is only a dream, but these 10 examples of architecture made from food show that smaller scale versions can be almost as fun. LINK

Modern Architecture - Hermitage Plaza: Paris

Architects Foster + Partners have recently unveiled plans for the tallest mixed-use towers in Western Europe. Hermitage Plaza will comprise of two 1,060ft (323m) towers intended to inject life by creating a sustainable, high-density community in Paris. Due to start on site in 2010 and complete by the end of 2014, the plaza will accommodate a hotel, spa, apartments, offices, and retail shops. The two towers will be a new distinctive landmark in the Paris skyline and will be located to the east of La Défense, in Courbevoie, along the river Seine.

“Hermitage Plaza will create a 24-hour community that will regenerate the riverfront and inject new life into a predominantly commercial part of the city. A light catching addition to the Paris skyline, the development will also provide a public piazza that leads down to the river’s edge to create a new destination for the city.” -Norman Foster. LINK

Modern Architecture - Seawater Vertical Farm: Dubai

To deal with the lack of fresh water in Dubai and other Arabian nations, Italian architectural firm Studiomobile created the Seawater Vertical Farm to cool and humidify greenhouses. This innovative concept produces adequate humidity to convert seawater into fresh water, necessary for irrigation. LINK

Abandoned Wooden Miracles

Some other masterpieces of Russian medieval wooden architecture were found abandoned.

Some of them look like they are just left - even some furniture stays on its places. The reason they are so undisturbed - it stays deep inside the Russian forests. LINK