SPF architects: national music centre, calgary

american firm SPF architects recently presented their design concept for the cantos national music centre project in calgary. the project, which involves building a music centre in and around the shell of calgary’s oldest blues bar is seen by many as one of the country’s most ambitious and important urban-design projects, and is located in the heart of one of calgary’s oldest neighborhoods. the centre will be part museum, part education and outreach facility, and part performance space, incorporating genres ranging from pop and country to ancient music and contemporary composition.

from Designboom - Weblog

Cardiff Bay by Light Bureau

Light Bureau from London sent us their project Cardiff Bay. The parking garage buildings tend to leave us with bland facades. Cardiff Bay project shows us how bland can quickly become blank canvas for a innovative lighting design.

from ENLIGHTER.ORG by Lučka Slatner

Kahn's Phillips Exeter academy library

CG Shortfilm by Alex Roman about Louis Kahn's Phillips Exeter Academy Library.
Footage from "The Third & The Seventh" project for illustrating Mundos Digitales 2009 conference. Main theme soundtrack it's The Divine Comedy's "Laika's Theme" from "Absent Friends" album.

Remota hotel, Germán del Sol

Here is a photo of the Remota Hotel in Patagonia, Torres del Paine, Puerto Natales-Chile by Germán del Sol. Photographs are by #freelance.

from A Daily Dose of Architecture by John

Capella Singapore by Foster + Partners

Here is a photo of Capella Singapore in Singapore, Singapore (2003-2009) by Foster + Partners, photographed by parameters75.

from A Daily Dose of Architecture by John

Quingpu Pedestrian Bridge / CA-DESIGN

Learning from the bridges of the great water town of ZhuJiaJiao, or those from the delicate gardens in Suzhou, we decided to link both sides of the 50 meters wide river with a bent path. The bent axis responds to different access conditions and visually adapts to the surroundings. Our strategy of borrowing from local historical references and other variables of the site, together with the objective of revealing the structural performance of the bridge, will generate the final form of the project.

from Arch Daily by Nico Saieh

BMW’s Stunning Energy-Efficient Production Plant

In a perfect world we’d all be getting back to our zero energy, prefabricated homes by foot, bike or public transport, but on a planet where cars won’t be disappearing anytime soon, it’s nice to know that some car companies are trying to reduce their carbon footprint when producing new vehicles. In 2003 BMW set out a design competition for a new building and distribution center located in Munich, Germany. The results were more than grand; not only is the new BMW Welt aesthetically pleasing with its sinuous curves and gleaming façade, but it was also consciously designed to save energy in its production of cars through efficient solar heating and natural ventilation systems.

from Inhabitat » Architecture by Diane Pham

jarmund/vigsnaes architecture: oslo international school

the oslo international school is a private school in norway by jarmund/vigsnaes architecture with 500 students from over 50 different countries. the school has a mixture of regular classrooms and special facilities for advanced studies. the new design was planned to replace the existing facilities and built in three phases so the school could remain open during construction. the new structure was based on the previous one, combining a simple one level plan with good natural lighting. the organically shaped walls are covered in wooden panels that are treated on the outside and whitewashed inside. the phase 2 façade features fiber cement board combined in 10 different colours. the new school is based around three central atriums that are used for play and recreation spaces, while the existing atrium is now a garden for quiet contemplation.

from Designboom - Weblog