+MOOD | recent articles + 5 more |  |
- Halleluja Concert Hall (Yellow Dragon Cave Theatre) | Turenscape
- Long Sleeve Skywalk | Turenscape
- Shanghai Houtan Park: Landscape as a Living System | Turenscape
- Biomass Renewable Energy Plants | Gordon Murray Architects
- The Luna Collection | GRAFF
- Deadline for Italian Workshop Design 2011 Submission Extended
| Halleluja Concert Hall (Yellow Dragon Cave Theatre) | Turenscape Posted: 30 Mar 2011 03:54 AM PDT
Designed by Turenscape, the Construction site of Halleluja Concert Hall is located in the front of the cave plaza of Yellow Dragon Cave in Wuling River, zhangjiajie, a world-famous Scenic area of Hunan province. In the front, there is Suoxi River back against the cliff. Most of the functions are arranged underground, to avoid the disturbance to the scenic spot, which is lead to the volume above the ground has reduced.  Halleluja Concert Hall (Yellow Dragon Cave Theatre), image courtesy Turenscape The overall situation is the elevation of the structural form, to respond to the crustal structure of the surrounding mountain of the core of the Wuling spacious mountain, forest and the original design of the roof off the east side of the main entrance to the ground, the main entrance of the water is into the sink through the square. The overall impact is a complement to its surroundings, and it coexists with the environment. When the night comes, warm light goes through the glass, which may well create a sense of different bends of rock fluttering in the air.  Halleluja Concert Hall (Yellow Dragon Cave Theatre), image courtesy Turenscape This form for the internal function is that it conjoins the audience hall, the stage with its backstage, side table, and the space above the curtain properly and makes every part of the space full and proper use. For example, it skillfully solved the issue that the higher end which cocked up of the stage is the most part need of height, which was a problems of the Somatotype of the traditional hall; as well as the sinking stage design, making the use the foundations of slight slope to be the auditorium, leading to save the cost and to good effect, the roof from the slope to the ground is green planting, of an energetic efficient results, and mixed with rice landscape of the east.  Halleluja Concert Hall (Yellow Dragon Cave Theatre), image courtesy Turenscape The water surrounded the building is designed for the adjustment of climate. Upward reflexed roof can reflect the sound from the stage into the auditorium, especially to get valuable resumes reflections for the audience in the back row.  Halleluja Concert Hall (Yellow Dragon Cave Theatre), image courtesy Turenscape The landscape around the east buildings were hard paves and man-made grasses, as part of the project, the Turen design remove the plaza, the grass and European structures, recover local rice and regional planning layout of an indigenous forms of the dwellings, having gradually become a great tourist attractions in Yellow Dragon Cave.  Halleluja Concert Hall (Yellow Dragon Cave Theatre), image courtesy Turenscape Design is partially adjusted during the construction, and the original design inspiration comes from the breaking and upwrap of the earth rock, and not the book holding by the monkey in the entrance. It was initially named of "Yellow Dragon Cave theatre" instead of "Halleluja Concert". The original design intended to make the entrance to the roof down straight to the ground, but this was not fulfilled during the construction, and the entrance could not be invaginated below the eaves. This was a pity.  Halleluja Concert Hall (Yellow Dragon Cave Theatre), image courtesy Turenscape + Project credits / dataProject: Halleluja Concert Hall (Yellow Dragon Cave Theatre) + All images courtesy Turenscape                   + Recommended landscape architecture featured on +MOOD Saffire | CiRCA Architecture         |
| Long Sleeve Skywalk | Turenscape Posted: 30 Mar 2011 03:49 AM PDT
The Long Sleeve Skywalk by Turenscape is a simple but graceful integration of complicated urban functions with poetic space. Straddling across several river systems and a express way (Xuning Road), the Long Sleeve Skywalk is located on Xuning Road, Suining County, Jiangsu Province. It connects the focal point of the county, Harmony Square, to the Forest Plaza across the road.  Long Sleeve Skywalk - Model, image courtesy Turenscape  Long Sleeve Skywalk, image courtesy Turenscape The main bridge spans 635m across, with a total construction length of 869m, and covers a total area of 2700 m². Four auxiliary bridges span a total length of 242m, with decks ranging from 2.5m to 9m wide, sloping from 0.4 to 12.6%. The bridge spans a net height of 4.5m over the road pavement below.  Long Sleeve Skywalk, image courtesy Turenscape  Long Sleeve Skywalk, image courtesy Turenscape  Long Sleeve Skywalk - Inspired by Peking Opera, image courtesy Turenscape Based on the initial premise, the bridge is designed to strengthen the spatial connections between Harmony Square and Forest Plaza to ensure safe pedestrian crossing. This is achieved by separating and elevating the pedestrian pathway(s) over fast moving traffic on Xuning Road. Beyond meeting the basic requirements, the design was inspired by the dancing shadows of long sleeves in the Chinese operas like Peking Opera. In addition, the bridge's intricate light display system glows softly at night as it weaves fluidly between the city square, waters, and woodland. The Long Sleeve Skywalk sets an example of the artful integration of function and form of urban landscape elements. + Project credits / dataProject: Long Sleeve Skywalk + All images courtesy Turenscape                |
| Shanghai Houtan Park: Landscape as a Living System | Turenscape Posted: 30 Mar 2011 02:28 AM PDT
Built on a brownfield of a former industrial site, Houtan Park is a regenerative living landscape on Shanghai's Huangpu riverfront. The park's constructed wetland, ecological flood control, reclaimed industrial structures and materials, and urban agriculture are integral components of an overall restorative design strategy to treat polluted river water and recover the degraded waterfront in an aesthetically pleasing way.  Shanghai Houtan Park - Master plan + Aerial view, drawing courtesy Turenscape Objectives and Challenges The site is a narrow linear 14-hectare (34.6 acre) band located along the Huangpu River waterfront in Shanghai, China. This brownfield, previously owned by a steel factory and a shipyard, had few industrial structures remaining and the site was largely used as a landfill and lay-down yard for industrial materials. Objectives? The objective of the park design was to: create a green Expo, accommodate for a large influx of visitors during the exposition from May to October, demonstrate green technologies, transform a unique space to make the Expo an unforgettable event, and transition into a permanent public waterfront park after the Expo. Challenges? The first challenge was restoring the degraded environment. The site is a brownfield littered with industrial and construction debris both on the surface and buried throughout the site. The water of Huangpu River is highly polluted with a national water quality ranking of Lower Grade V, the lowest grade on a scale of I-V and is considered unsafe for swimming and recreation and devoid of aquatic life. The eminent site design challenge was to transform this degraded landscape into a safe and pleasant public space. The second challenge was to improve flood control. The existing concrete floodwall was designed to protect against a 1,000-year flood event with a top elevation of 6.7 meters (22 feet), but it is rigid and lifeless. The 2.1 meter (6-foot) daily tidal fluctuation creates a muddy and littered shoreline and is currently inaccessible to the public. A conventional retaining wall would continue to limit accessibility and preclude habitat creation along the water's edge, so an alternative flood control design proposal was necessary. The third challenge was the site itself. The area is long and narrow locked between the Huangpu River and an urban express way with water frontage is over 1.7 kilometers (one mile) in length but averaging only 30-80 meters (100-265 feet) in width.  Shanghai Houtan Park - Diagram + Sections, drawing courtesy Turenscape Design Strategy Regenerative design strategies used to transform the site into a living system that offer comprehensive ecological services included: food production, flood, water treatment, and habitat creation combined in an educational and aesthetic form. The site is destined to be an innovative demonstration of the ecological culture for the 2010 Expo. (1) Constructed Wetland and Regenerative Design  Shanghai Houtan Park, image courtesy Turenscape The wetland also acts as a flood protection buffer between the 20- and 1000-year flood control levees. The meandering valley along the wetland creates a series of thresholds creating visual interest and refuge within the bustling world exposition with opportunities for recreation, education, and research. The terrace design of the wetland alleviates the elevation difference between the city and the river, safely reconnecting people to the water's edge. Additionally, the existing concrete floodwall was replaced by a more habitat friendly riprap that allows native species to grow along the riverbank while protecting the shoreline from erosion.  Shanghai Houtan Park, image courtesy Turenscape (2) Memory and Prophecy Inspired by the fields of Chinese agricultural landscape, terraces were created to break down the 3-5 meter (15-18 foot) elevation change from the water's edge to the road, and to slow the runoff directed to the stream in the constructed wetland. These terraces are reminiscent of Shanghai's agricultural heritage prior to industrial development of the neighborhood in the mid 20th century. Crops and wetland plants were selected to create an urban farm allowing people to witness seasonal changes: the golden blossoms in the spring, splendid sunflowers in the summer, fragrance of the ripened rice in the fall, and green clover in the winter. It provides a premier educational opportunity for people to learn about agriculture and farming within the city.  Shanghai Houtan Park, image courtesy Turenscape The terraces enrich the landscape along the wetland by creating spaces that encourage visitors to enter the living system through the field's corridors and experience the agricultural landscape and wetland firsthand. The paths, like capillaries of a sponge, absorb and pull people to circulate through the park. The industrial spirit of the site is celebrated through the reclamation of industrial structures and materials. Shanghai is the birthplace of China's modern industry and the iconic structures that remained onsite have been transformed into hanging gardens and overlook platforms. The reclaimed steel panels hail the site's former industrial spirit. Situated throughout the wetland valley, the folded steel panels are used to frame views of Shanghai's skyline and highlight the industrial past. The materials are reconfigured to create artful forms, new paving material for the boardwalk, and shelters.  Shanghai Houtan Park, image courtesy Turenscape (3) Path Network Numerous platforms and enclosed 'containers' are designed as the nodes on the pedestrian network, including the 'hanging garden' transformed from a factory structure and the landscaped dock. These platforms and containers are integrated into the pedestrian network to create larger expanses where small groups can gather. Groves of bamboo and Chinese Redwood trees act as screens along the paths to break up the spaces and the enclosures surrounded by trees are used to exhibit modern art and industrial relics found onsite. Conclusion Houtan Park demonstrates a living system where ecological infrastructure can provide multiple services for society and nature and new ecological water treatment and flood control methods. The post-industrial design demonstrates a unique productive landscape evoking the memories of past and the future of the ecological civilization, paying homage to a new aesthetics based low maintenance and high performance landscapes.  Shanghai Houtan Park, image courtesy Turenscape + Project credits / dataProject: Shanghai Houtan Park: Landscape as a living system + All images and drawings courtesy Turenscape               + Recommended landscape projects featured on +MOOD Ballast Point Park | McGregor Coxall  Neighbourhood Park San Donà di Piave | Cino Zucchi Architetti      |
| Biomass Renewable Energy Plants | Gordon Murray Architects Posted: 29 Mar 2011 11:06 PM PDT
British architectural firm Gordon Murray Architects were commissioned by Forth Energy, a joint venture between Forth Ports Plc and SSE (Scottish Southern Energy) to develop conceptual design proposals for a series of new Biomass Renewable Energy Plants at their ports of Dundee, Grangemouth, Rosyth and Leith in support of Section 36 Applications. The projects have an estimated combined construction value of over £1 billion.  Biomass Renewable Energy Plants - Dundee, sketch & elevation courtesy Gordon Murray Architects Each project is developed through a clear exploration and understanding of the technological processes involved in the plant operation, by drawing inspiration from the physical and historical setting in which each plant is located, and through intensive research into historical precedent of the power station as building typology. This ensures every project has a unique design solution appropriate to its function and place. It is Forth Energy's aspiration that the four Biomass Renewable Energy Plants will be operational by 2015. + Project credits / dataProject: Biomass Renewable Energy Plants + About the portsDundee Dundee, referencing itself as the City of Discovery has a long and distinguished history of scientific endeavour . The renewable energy plant site is on the same waterfront which built Scott’s Discovery, and the notion of the long ship at the water's edge about to embark on a voyage of scientific exploration is quite explicit in the design. The main body of the plant hovers above the quayside by use of translucent materials at low level, while the main boiler house becomes an expressive part of the Dundee skyline.  Biomass Renewable Energy Plants - Dundee, render courtesy Gordon Murray Architects …………………….. Grangemouth Grangemouth is Scotland’s largest container terminal. The proposed site for the new plant is also currently used to store containers. So an obvious, but appropriate move was to consider the cargo container as the basic building block of the new plant, stacked in such a manner as to orientate the higher elements of the plant away from the town to the south. A semi translucent sculptural form encloses the highest elements, reading as part of a sequence of infrastructure set pieces in the area including the Falkirk Wheel and the Kelpie boat lift.  Biomass Renewable Energy Plants - Grangemouth, render courtesy Gordon Murray Architects …………………….. Rosyth As a former naval dockyard and decommissioning pen for nuclear submarines and now the site for final construction of the Royal Navy’s new super carriers, the design of the Rosyth plant draws inspiration from the forms of submarine and aircraft carrier conning towers. The site also enjoys a strong connection to the Forth crossings, and the plant opens itself up to act as a gateway into Fife, and to also allow greater understanding of the processes within.  Biomass Renewable Energy Plants - Rosyth, render courtesy Gordon Murray Architects …………………….. Leith With the site located at the boundary of the City of Edinburgh, and the Firth of Forth and North Sea beyond, the plant form is separated into a solid base which relates in scale to the surrounding port structures, with the higher elements articulated in a more dynamic form, suggestive of maritime imagery -clouds on the horizon, the sails of a tall ship, the crystalline surface of an iceberg. By creating a clear distinction between high and low level elements, the upper levels can be articulated to reduce the apparent bulk of the form, evoking memories of the large sail clippers which once serviced the Port of Leith, while the lower level storage structures would relate to the fabric of the existing port.  Biomass Renewable Energy Plants - Leith, render courtesy Gordon Murray Architects + Recommended industrial project featured on +MOOD BIG wins the International Competition to design a new Waste-To-Energy Plant  Faustino Winery by Foster + Partners opens in Spain      |
| Posted: 29 Mar 2011 09:00 PM PDT
Luna Faucet Design Inspired By The Moon and Stars Gazing into the sky and looking to the moon and the stars for inspiration, the designers at GRAFF created the awe-inspiring, Luna with it's almost 40" long spout – elegantly curving off the wall and into your sink. The GRAFF Luna Faucet’s sensuous and sculptural form is more than just decorative plumbing, it's a piece of modern art; simplistic, minimalistic, and perfected in form.  Luna Faucet Design Inspired By The Moon and Stars, image courtesy GRAFF Its graceful curves are sexy and sleek – room defining by any standards. Beauty, elegance, and function all packaged into one striking design. The long vertical blade curves slightly to complete the crescent edge of the moon. The handles express the twinkle in the stars. The dramatic look of this contemporary, award-winning design takes nothing away from its ability to provide as sensuous bathroom experience – as you would expect from the design team at GRAFF. The Luna collection puts the beauty of the sky in your bathroom. This piece of the heavens is available in polished chrome and brushed Steelnox satin nickel finishes to complement any bathroom. The hot and cold water handles can be wall-mounted or deck-mounted. + For more information, visit GRAFF.  The Luna Collection, image courtesy GRAFF  The Luna Collection, image courtesy GRAFF  The Luna Collection, image courtesy GRAFF  The Luna Collection, image courtesy GRAFF  The Luna Collection, image courtesy GRAFF + About GRAFFHeadquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, with locations throughout Europe, GRAFF® is recognized globally for its European design aesthetic and engineering excellence. Supported by over 80 years of extensive plumbing and hardware manufacturing experience, GRAFF offers a wide range of contemporary, transitional and traditional plumbing products and fixtures for the kitchen and bath industry. GRAFF's fixtures have been used extensively in exclusive properties such as the 'W' hotel and Rockefeller Plaza in NYC as well as many architecturally detailed upscale residences, such as Eloquence on the Bay, a luxury high-rise in Miami, Florida. + All images courtesy GRAFF            + Selected sanitary design featured on +MOOD NOTE Basins | Sanindusa  The Cube & Dot Collections | Tamer Nakisci      |
| Deadline for Italian Workshop Design 2011 Submission Extended Posted: 29 Mar 2011 07:47 PM PDT
The organizers of the Italian Design Workshop have agreed to extend the deadline for applications to IWD from March 31, 2011 to April 25, 2011. If you are under age of 35 and living in Sweden, Germany, Czech Republic, Turkey, Lebanon, Poland, Netherlands and Italy, please take this opportunities to showoff your talent, 8 designers will be selected to represent your country. The selection results will be announced & published on May 6, 2011. + Visit our earlier story for more information @ Italian Workshop Design 2011.      |
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