"project or" is a photoreactive architectural vortex

Project OR was shown at this year's Milan International Furniture Fair, and its got some of the coolest technology behind it. As a design piece, it's dynamic--though the picture above shows it as a vibrant ocean-blue, this thing actually changes depending on the amount of daylight.

"The polygonal segments of the surface react to ultra-violet light, mapping the position and intensity of solar rays. When in the shade, the segments of OR are translucent white. However, when hit by sunlight they become coloured, flooding the space below with different hues of light. At night, OR transforms into an enormous 'chandelier', disseminating light into the surrounding courtyard, an atmospheric space for events and gatherings."

What's doubly impressive is that this is the first time that photoreactive technology has been used on an architectural scale. Designed by Ran Ankori, Francesco Brenta, Maya Carni, Christoph Klemmt, Laura Micalizzi and Elisa Oddone, Project OR is an important step towards implementation of the technology on furniture and other design pieces.

(Found via ego technique) FULL POST

i need a cabin to get away to. like this one.

Owning land usually isn't a problem. But when your land has some of the most stunning views in Canada, a lot of people want to come spend weekends. In order to escape the guests, a couple in Ontario had to build a getaway cabin on their own property. And thank goodness they did--now I get to look at pictures of it, wish I had one, and run down to QuikTrip to buy lottery tickets. What started as a little annoyance for the couple has turned into a completely modern structure that still fits in with its natural environment. And its rustic feel is going to get better with age, as the exterior wood will turn grey. Designed by Taylor Smyth Architects, this one room cabin has won awards and is proof that big things can come in small packages--190 square feet.

via thecoolhunter

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oslo's new opera house is an architectural masterpiece

Just recently the new opera house opened up in Oslo. Designed by Norwegian Snøhetta, the house reminds me of something out of 1970s America, but much more refined. Notice the exterior, too--the whole design and placement of the house makes it wholly unique and almost alien. It's like something out of Blade Runner.

(Found via NOTCOT.) FULL POST

tate modern gets tagged

Graffiti and street artists have been represented in museums and galleries for a few years now, see Brooklyn Museums Graffiti and Bansky, and now the Tate Modern is planning a new way for a museum to display this relatively new genre. This summer the ultra modern museum will be giving its Thames-River-facing outside wall over to a group of the biggest street artists from around the globe: Blu from Bologna, Italy; the artist collective Faile from New York, USA; JR from Paris, France; Nunca and Os Gemeos, both from Sao Paulo, Brazil and Sixeart from Barcelona, Spain. I'm not going to pretend to know who they all are, but it would be great to get over to London and see their work.

If the Tates wall isn't enough for you, the museum is also providing a walking tour of the area around London to discover some other, probably not commissioned, street art.

So far 95Total has seen building facades decked out in a huge vertical garden and now by world class graffiti artists on a museum. How would you like to see a building decorated? A giant magic eye would be cool. Or would have been cool 15 years ago.

The photo is a Blu piece in Berlin at Planet Prozess. FULL POST

Architecture Meets Nature: Madrid's Vertical Garden

Treehugger has posted a cool finding: Madrid's new vertical garden. Like our post about the sale of the Kaufmann House in Palm Springs, California, this is just another example of the evolution of architecture, design and art, showing that big, brooding buildings can be quite artistic (and ecological, too).

The vertical garden scales up Madrid's new museum, CaixaForum. It consists of "15,000 plants of 250 different species" and is 24 meters high.

Created by Patrick Blanc, expect to see these vertical gardens spring-up in a variety of places, including subway stations, parking lots, and other places where vegetation is typically nonexistent. FULL POST

I Need A Raise.

If you have $25 million you can have the coolest thing in the new J. Crew catalog. It's actually not anything the retailer sells, but the house used as a backdrop for their spring lines photo shoot is up for sale. The Kaufmann House in Palm Springs, California was designed by Richard Neutra and become one of the most defining examples of American Modernism. After its original owner died, the desert oasis fell into decades of decay until eventually being bought by a Wall-street investor and his wife, an architectural history student. After years of restoring it to its original state, the couple is now parting ways with each other, and the house.

Obviously, this isn't something I'm really recommending for anyone to buy, but the sale of the Kaufmann Desert House marks the latest in a growing trend of architecture as art. Christie's in New York is auctioning off the house in May for an estimated $15 million to $25 million. Auctions such as these are rare, but not unheard of, and they continue to define architecture as legitimate an artform as painting or sculpture.

The New York Times link has a great photo slideshow of the house.

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Tree houses are more than un-had memories.

Did anyone ever actually have a tree house? I feel like it's this symbol of childhood and yet no one in my neighborhood had one, much less a conglomeration of trees large enough to put one in. Instead I was throwing tennis balls against brick walls or swimming in round aluminum trough-like (were they troughs?) pools. Screw my childhood.

Anyway, the people over at WebUrbanist make it apparent that tree houses do exist, outside the magical realm of Narnia, and in quite stunning form:

That is incredible. It doesn't even stop here, there is an eclectic of advanced tree house builders that are mind-blowing. This makes my cardboard box fort covered in cheap linen seem way less cool.

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