Realtime Designs

I once had a homeless person walk up to me and express incredulity that the car had been ‘invented’ in 1908 (Model T) and since then, it had only been made prettier. I was somewhat taken aback by this to-the-point critique. But the truth is that he was and continues to be right, and it doesn’t just pertain to cars. Cities are something that have been with the human race for literally millennial. And they have essentially continued to be massive users and polluters and in spite of all our new technology, only really gotten prettier. Nothing has really changed. I think the problem is perhaps one of smell.

In the past, a city would stink of the waste it produced. This waste was typically rotting food or just plain old excrement. It was physical, in your nostrils, stuff. This was the kind of stuff that made people step back and say ‘You know, it’s wonderful that we’re all living so close and it’s making us ever so much more productive, but we gotta do something about all the s**t everywhere- it smells like s**t.’

Today, our cities are enormous bastions of productivity. They produce and reduce and refine and all of it happens behind the scenes. Our cities are larger and they don’t stink as much. Haven’t we solved the problem. Pat on the back. Unless… maybe we just got smart and started producing things in ways that only give off odorless, colorless gasses and our cities are much dirtier only in a less noticeable way? It is interesting to me that for many years now it has been known that any combustion should have proper ventilation to prevent excessive build-up of exhaust; you know, don’t run your car in the garage with the door closed. And yet, we as a species failed to make the mental leap comparing self-contained garage to also self-contained planetary atmosphere. So now that it’s getting hard to ignore, we worry about it. This is where Masdar City comes onto the scene.

Built in the United Arab Emirates , it is set to be the first zero-waste, zero-carbon footprint city in the world. Designed by Norman Foster, they describe the city as inspired by the Architecture & Engineering and Urban Planning of traditional Arab cities, Masdar City incorporates narrow streets; the shading of windows, exterior walls and walkways; thick-walled buildings; courtyards and wind towers; vegetation and a generally walkable city.”]

The city’s orientation is northeast-southwest, which coupled with narrow, carless streets cuts down on how much city dwellers are exposed to the hot, daytime winds and increases their access to night breezes. This seemingly little thing is to me perhaps the most important. It signifies a deeper examination of situation. Mankind’s solution to problems has for a long time been to throw something else at it. ‘Everything can be fixed by making it bigger’. It is becoming increasingly clear that no amount of high-technology can beat nature. So Foster + Partners has chosen to work with it in setting up a city that will hopefully become a hallmark for the future.



Foster + Partners

Carlo Ratti Associati presents with Cesare Griffa & EcoLogicStudio a natural man-made sustainable prototype, first bio-digital canopy, for the Future Food District project of the Milano Expo 2015. It exploits principally the use of algae as a consolidated architectural fabric & urban agriculture mechanism.

The functioning principle of the prototype is based on the exceptional properties of micro-algae organisms, which are ten times more efficient photosynthetic machines compared to large trees and grasses’ said Carlo Ratti. Algae represents a significant component of health & liveable ecosystem, endorsing life to inexplicable urban gardens that can be utilized as an ingenious energy for diverse food production techniques.

Agriculture Europe PC EXPO Italy Milan, Italy

Micro-algae perform a crucial photosynthetic activity with 150kg of biomass per day – 60% of which are natural vegetal proteins. It absorbs considerable supplies of carbon dioxide and oxygen, while simultaneously performs as a second skin of buildings with passive cooling. Cesare Griffa additionally states, ‘micro-algae open up an incredible potential for new renewable energy resources, and hope for a greener future building and architectural surfaces.

Urban façades and roofs represent billions of square meters that instead of being made of an inanimate material such as concrete, could become clever photosynthetic surfaces that respond to the current state of climate warming.

OMA Pavilion Renewable energy Sustainability

BIG) Bjarke Ingels Group and Allard Architecture with the assistance of three additional architectural firms proposed the design for “ArtA” a social, interactive atmosphere along the periphery of the Rhine located in Arnhem, Netherlands. The design will gradually host the Museum Arnhem and the Focus Film Theater in hopes to try to converge or bridge the gap between the city and its waterfront.

Arnhem, Netherlands BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group Art & Architecture

BIG also intends for the two designated programs to consolidate with the public Art Plaza, allowing ArtA to become a kind of focal point where city life can spiral; where art, education, recreational activities and social interaction can create a more intriguing experience for the general public.

The exterior also acts as a reflective surface that is kind of integrated into the landscape through a gradual twist. The vertical fins along the exterior also allows light to seamlessly interact with the interior spaces in a joyful manner. The interior also has this perception of an endless continuity, as the building itself acts as a type of natural progression, a bridge from one common area into the other.

ArtA is also seen as a large type of art installation that sparks a level of interaction between the city and the public. The building also acts as a canvas that display levels of social activities that emanates a welcoming vibe that encompasses a broad range of interests.

Installation art Netherlands Theater