Archives / 2011 / November

A-tut architectural research seminar

A-tut architectural research seminar

The Finnish architectural research seminar A-tut (Arkkitehtuuritutkimuksenpäivät) were held at the University of Oulu at 11.-12.11.2011. The theme this year was “research and practise” and keynote lecturers were professor Halina Dunin-Woyseth (AHO) and professor Johan Verbeke (Sint-Lucas School of Architecture).

The seminar presented a wide range of research projects from the field of architecture and also included presentations from the Adaptive Urban Lighting -research team (AUL) and a personal doctoral research presentation by Toni Österlund. The AUL team had also programmed a small “light animation” to the adjacent Pakkahuoneenkatu’s light fixtures that each hold two controllable RGB-led strips.

Evolo book is out

Evolo book is out

The limited edition “Evolo skyscrapers” book has come out. It includes a selection of 300 projects from the Evolo competition from the course of six years. The book includes the competition entry “Mangrove tower” made by Jaakko Kallio-Koski, Toni Österlund and Joose Mykkänen. This project can also be found from the Evolo magazine’s webpage.

Here is a description of the book by Evolo:
Title: EVOLO SKYSCRAPERS
Cover: Hardcover
Size: 9″ x 11.5″ x 2.5″
Pages: 1224
ISBN: 978-0-9816658-4-9
Limited edition: 500 copies

INTRODUCTION

Established in 2006, the eVolo Skyscraper Competition  has become the world’s most prestigious award for high-rise architecture. The contest recognizes outstanding ideas that redefine skyscraper design through the implementation of new technologies, materials, programs, aesthetics, and spatial organizations. Studies on globalization, flexibility, adaptability, and the digital revolution are some of the multi-layered elements of the competition. It is an investigation on the public and private space and the role of the individual and the collective in the creation of dynamic and adaptive vertical communities.

Over the last six years, an international panel of renowned architects, engineers, and city planners have reviewed more than 4,000 projects submitted from 168 countries around the world. Participants include professional architects and designers, as well as students and artists. This book is the compilation of 300 outstanding projects selected for their innovative concepts that challenge the way we understand architecture and their relationship with the natural and built environments.

The projects have been organized in six chapters that describe the current position and the future of vertical architecture and urbanism. The first chapter, Technological Advances, is an investigation on the use of digital tools and computing fabrication. Ecological Urbanism explores sustainable systems, including new materials and clean energy generation processes to achieve zero-net-energy buildings. Projects that analyze the reconfiguration of existing cities and the colonization of new environments, such as underwater cities and floating habitats, are part of  New Frontiers.  The improvement of our way of living is the topic of the fourth chapter, Social Solutions, which is a collection of ideas that respond to social, cultural, and economic problems. A more experimental approach to architectural design is exposed in Morphotectonic Aesthetics, with proposals that use fields of data and self-regulating systems to respond to internal and external stimuli -the results are fascinating explorations of function and form. Finally, Urban Theories and Strategies  is a group of projects that establish new methods to alleviate the major problems of the contemporary city, including the scarcity of natural resources and infrastructure, and the exponential increase of inhabitants.

The eVolo Skyscraper Competition is a forum for the discussion, debate, and development of avant-garde architectural design in the 21st century. eVolo is committed to stimulating the imagination of designers around the world – thinkers that envision the future of our cities and a new way of life.

Puu magazine 3/11

Puu magazine 3/11

Puu magazine, a finnish wooden industry’s magazine about wooden architecture and wooden constructions, had articles about the workshop constructions “Pudelma” and Dragonskin”.

Emmi Keskisarja had written an article about the Tampere University of Technology workshop, where students designed a pavilion structure out of UPM Grada bendable plywood, called “Dragonskin”. Eero Lundén had written about the collaboration workshop with the students from Oulu University students and the Columbia University and their resulting pavilion “Pudelma”.

The whole Puu magazine 3/11 can be read here (PDF).