My blog
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Architect-designed Ramp House is a skaters dream pad
Friday, Apr 3, 2009 6:19AM / Standard Entry
April 2, 2009 For skating lovers who heard the phrase ‘don’t you dare skate in the house’ one too many times as a kid, this might just be the dream home you’ve always wanted. The unique dwelling is described as having a ‘curved form interior’ (otherwise known as a ramp), but it's not just 'a house with a ramp in it'. Archivirus Architecture and Design's creation sets out to deliver a completely 'skatable habitat' for the client (which is not actually Tony Hawk -he has his half-pipe built in the backyard) with smooth concrete and curved spaces to enhance the idea of motion.
Located in Athens, Greece, the Ramp House is actually a roof addition to an existing three-storey building that includes a balcony, also with a ramp on it (good idea or bad idea?). The main ramp is in the living room, with a partition to the kitchen. It is a mixture of wood and concrete, with storage units and a fireplace built into the ramp forms.
Jamilah Le
Via Architectural Review via Gizmodo.
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Architect-designed Ramp House is a skaters dream pad
Friday, Apr 3, 2009 6:19AM / Standard Entry
April 2, 2009 For skating lovers who heard the phrase ‘don’t you dare skate in the house’ one too many times as a kid, this might just be the dream home you’ve always wanted. The unique dwelling is described as having a ‘curved form interior’ (otherwise known as a ramp), but it's not just 'a house with a ramp in it'. Archivirus Architecture and Design's creation sets out to deliver a completely 'skatable habitat' for the client (which is not actually Tony Hawk -he has his half-pipe built in the backyard) with smooth concrete and curved spaces to enhance the idea of motion.
Located in Athens, Greece, the Ramp House is actually a roof addition to an existing three-storey building that includes a balcony, also with a ramp on it (good idea or bad idea?). The main ramp is in the living room, with a partition to the kitchen. It is a mixture of wood and concrete, with storage units and a fireplace built into the ramp forms.
Jamilah Le
Via Architectural Review via Gizmodo.
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Vertical farming with seawater
Saturday, Mar 28, 2009 3:31AM / Standard Entry
The seawater vertical farm would make another stunning addition to the Dubai skyline Pic credit: Studiomobile via designboom
Image Gallery ( 7 images )March 24, 2009 The saying used to go, ‘only in America’, but in recent years it might be truer to say, ‘only in Dubai’, especially when it comes to architectural wonders. Buildings that would be unfeasible just about anywhere else seem to regularly spring from the ground in the oil rich emirate. The next eye-popping construction to grace the skyline could be a seawater vertical farm that uses seawater to cool and humidify greenhouses and to convert sufficient humidity back in to fresh water to irrigate the crops.
At a time when the world’s population continues to grow, arable land is under threat from deforestation, poor management and global warming. All these factors point to vertical farming being an idea whose time may finally have arrived - and what better place to put it to the test than Dubai. That’s the thinking of Italian architectural firm Studiomobile, who have been working on housing and infrastructure projects in the United Arab Emirates where a lack of fresh water and a high soil value make such a concept feasible.
The vertical farm features a soaring spire with pod-like ‘sky-gardens’ branching off to give it an organic feel in keeping with designers aims to create a clean, green, sustainable source of food for a more self-sufficient Dubai. The concept makes use of the Seawater Greenhouse process, which uses seawater to cool and humidify the air that ventilates the greenhouse and sunlight to distill fresh water from seawater to enable the year round cultivation of high value crops that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to grow in hot, arid regions such as Dubai. This is in stark contrast to costly and energy intensive desalination plants that rely on boiling and pumping to produce fresh water.
The concept works by continually cycling through three phases. In the first phase the air going into the greenhouse is first cooled and humidified by seawater, which is trickled over the first evaporator to provide a fresh and humid climate for the crops. Then in the second phase as the air leaves the growing area it passes through the second evaporator, which has seawater flowing over it. The humid air mixes with the warm dry air of the ceiling interspace making the air much hotter and more humid. The third and final phase sees the warm air forced upward by the temperature induced stack effect. In the central chimney the warm and humid air condenses when it comes in contact with plastic tubes that contain cool seawater. The drops of fresh water that appear on the surface of the condenser fall into a collection tank to be used to water the crops and for other uses.
At present the design is only a concept, but given Dubai’s love of distinct architecture coupled with their almost complete reliance on trade for food and deficiency of arable land and fresh water, don’t be surprised to see Studiomobile’s seawater vertical farm design appearing on Dubai’s skyline in the future. And if it proves successful there the lessons learned there could see the concept adapted to help feed ever growing cities around the globe and tackle the food shortages that look set to plague the world as global warming’s effects take hold.
Darren Quick
Source: designboom Via Inhabitat.
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Vertical farming with seawater
Saturday, Mar 28, 2009 3:31AM / Standard Entry
The seawater vertical farm would make another stunning addition to the Dubai skyline Pic credit: Studiomobile via designboom
Image Gallery ( 7 images )March 24, 2009 The saying used to go, ‘only in America’, but in recent years it might be truer to say, ‘only in Dubai’, especially when it comes to architectural wonders. Buildings that would be unfeasible just about anywhere else seem to regularly spring from the ground in the oil rich emirate. The next eye-popping construction to grace the skyline could be a seawater vertical farm that uses seawater to cool and humidify greenhouses and to convert sufficient humidity back in to fresh water to irrigate the crops.
At a time when the world’s population continues to grow, arable land is under threat from deforestation, poor management and global warming. All these factors point to vertical farming being an idea whose time may finally have arrived - and what better place to put it to the test than Dubai. That’s the thinking of Italian architectural firm Studiomobile, who have been working on housing and infrastructure projects in the United Arab Emirates where a lack of fresh water and a high soil value make such a concept feasible.
The vertical farm features a soaring spire with pod-like ‘sky-gardens’ branching off to give it an organic feel in keeping with designers aims to create a clean, green, sustainable source of food for a more self-sufficient Dubai. The concept makes use of the Seawater Greenhouse process, which uses seawater to cool and humidify the air that ventilates the greenhouse and sunlight to distill fresh water from seawater to enable the year round cultivation of high value crops that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to grow in hot, arid regions such as Dubai. This is in stark contrast to costly and energy intensive desalination plants that rely on boiling and pumping to produce fresh water.
The concept works by continually cycling through three phases. In the first phase the air going into the greenhouse is first cooled and humidified by seawater, which is trickled over the first evaporator to provide a fresh and humid climate for the crops. Then in the second phase as the air leaves the growing area it passes through the second evaporator, which has seawater flowing over it. The humid air mixes with the warm dry air of the ceiling interspace making the air much hotter and more humid. The third and final phase sees the warm air forced upward by the temperature induced stack effect. In the central chimney the warm and humid air condenses when it comes in contact with plastic tubes that contain cool seawater. The drops of fresh water that appear on the surface of the condenser fall into a collection tank to be used to water the crops and for other uses.
At present the design is only a concept, but given Dubai’s love of distinct architecture coupled with their almost complete reliance on trade for food and deficiency of arable land and fresh water, don’t be surprised to see Studiomobile’s seawater vertical farm design appearing on Dubai’s skyline in the future. And if it proves successful there the lessons learned there could see the concept adapted to help feed ever growing cities around the globe and tackle the food shortages that look set to plague the world as global warming’s effects take hold.
Darren Quick
Source: designboom Via Inhabitat.
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Caparo's T1 Race Extreme – 620 bhp pushing 550 kg
Saturday, Mar 21, 2009 12:58AM / Standard Entry
We've written a lot about the Caparo T1 supercar - an aluminium V8 in a carbon fibre tub designed by former McLaren employees to simulate an F1 car on the road. When the Stig ran the T1 on Top Gear's test track, it beat all previous lap times by a whopping SEVEN seconds. Just to prove that too much is never enough, the T1 is now available in a 620 bhp Race Extreme version, aimed specifically at the high end track day market. It can generate 4 G under brakes and 3.5 G during cornering - the sort of G-forces an aerobatic pilot experiences. It accelerates from 0-100 kmh in 2.8 seconds and 0-100mph in 5.8 seconds - faster than a base-jumper in free fall! With a power to weight ratio better than double that of a Bugatti Veyron, this is almost certainly the fastest accelerating production car on the planet!
. Not surprisingly, the T1’s utmost race specification is set to deliver the ultimate driving experience as the original car was designed to offer the performance of an F1 car.
Inspired in its design and performance by Formula One, the Caparo T1 has a distinctive pedigree which has once again been enhanced by the introduction of the new Race Extreme specification. The high end Race Extreme version of the car is now available with an evolved all aluminum, normally aspirated, fuel injected Caparo V8 engine which has been upgraded to deliver 620 bhp at 10,500 rpm.
The specification also includes: fully adjustable suspension and aerodynamic packs, ultra light 6 pot front and 4 pot rear monoblock billet machined aluminium callipers complete with titanium pistons, and 355mm x 35mm ceramic discs and pads set up. In addition, the car’s upgraded electronic package contains a fully tuneable ECU which ensures maximum performance from the engine and the six speed sequential gear box.
The above features together with the fully adjustable traction control of the Caparo T1 Race Extreme combine to provide the absolute track experience.
