This Environmentally Friendly Hotel in the Arctic Circle Inspired by Norwegian Fishers

Wutopia Lab Transforms an Urban Slum in Shenzhen Reflecting Gender Playfulness

Part of this seventh Shenzhen-Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture that started in December of last year, His home and Her House, is a conceptual installation by Shanghai-based architectural agency Wutopia Lab that has changed two little buildings in an urban slum of Shenzhen to a conversation about the contrasting roles of women and men in the kitchen and the way this can be reflected in dietary habits. Using blue as an allusion to the masculine traits of perseverance and crudeness, and crimson for the feminine virtues of sensitivity and refinement, the job is also a playful metaphor for the complementary forces which urban electricity rejuvenation.

With this Biennale, a decision was taken to integrate all of the exhibits into urban villages— poverty-stricken urban neighborhoods, growing independently from the city and supplying a low-cost living for migrant laborers and new arrivals. At Dameisha Village, five design studios, including Wutopia Lab, were invited to re-interpret the idea of the village kitchen as a place of urban symbiosis through the renovation of ten structures.

Wutopi Lab’s approach is focused on the roles that men and women are culturally assigned to in the kitchen: men usually being correlated with public cooking and girls with domestic, and the different dietary and eating habits that this distinction entails. Visually and conceptually, this is accomplished by color-coding the two buildings that comprise the setup as a way of delegating them sex: light pink to the feminine blue and building for the man. Though both of these colors are stereotypical of the two genders, they are also emblematic of other important features, blue for survival and competition and pink for both sensitivity and delicacy, but they also allude to the invisible forces which maintain the urban fabric together–both pink and blue are ordinary colors of insulating materials.

The one-story, a blue building, referred to as “His house,” accommodates three display rooms comprising green walls and blue floors and ceilings, an allusion to Matisse’s palette, each representing a testosterone-laden culinary facet: spirits, treated meat, and barbeque. Aside from their unrefined, street-food sensibility, what ties these themes together is that each relates to an age-old method of food preservation–fermentation, smoking, and healing–that reflects the individual desire of self-preservation.

The larger of the rooms feature a pool of beer along with a wall made from wine bottles, while in the next room bacon chunks hang from the ceiling at accurate alignment, graphically summing the architect’s underlying theme of a “Wine Pool Meat Forest.” A fourth, “meditation” room, a white space flooded in daytime although a skylight above, whose floor is covered in salt, a key ingredient for food preservation, has a purity that’s both de-toxifying and cleaning.

Whereas the interiors of “His house” are peppered by a triangular motif located in the doorway frames and handles that emphasize its manly character, “Her home,” a two-story building of light pink attributes rather a semicircular motif which talks about its femininity. The pink, chic interiors are a labyrinthine set of interconnected rooms spanning two floors and covering topics indicative of a refined diet and a prudent way of life like tea, incense, the art of flower arrangement and vegetarian cuisine, although the roof, which can be accomplished by a vertical ladder, is conceived as a distinctive distance of contemplation. On the front part of the building, vertical bands of the veil-like fabric cover the balconies as an indication of female introspection while a lawn of pink stone salt colorfully defines the boundaries of the property.

In both structures, the irregular composition and size of windows, which reflects the random way they were constructed and their tenant’s different needs, have been maintained as glistening openings that allow glimpses to the interiors while cheekily complementing the playfulness of the pink and blue cubic volumes. Set against the grimness of the surrounding slum, the abundance of both of these colors stands, above all, for the enduring human desire to live and flourish that throbs underneath the urban squalor.

h/t yatzer

SHoP Architects Finishes ‘325 Kent’ Residences in Brooklyn

325 Kent — situated in the 11-acre domino sugar mill site on the Williamsburg waterfront — is now complete, and fresh graphics provide a never-before-seen look at the development. Designed by SHoP Architects, the building stands at 16 stories tall and comes with a striking silhouette that measures up incrementally. 522 apartments are organized around a dramatic opening above a raised courtyard, which provides views of the adjacent park, the east river, and also the New York city skyline.

Developed by Two Trees management, 325 kent intends to associate with the surrounding low-rise neighborhood, the landmarked refinery construction, along with also the taller waterfront buildings slated for development. SHoP architects made the website with an architectural opening crowned with a three-story bridge — a link that hosts the building‘s major amenities.

‘325 kent is the first building to present on the domino sugar website, and with that, we are delivering on our promise to deliver striking architecture, affordable housing to neighborhood residents, and local Brooklyn retailers into the Williamsburg waterfront,’ says Jed Walentas, chief of 2 trees direction. ‘the construction features incredible outdoor space for all residents to enjoy, that will complement the new waterfront public park coming into the neighborhood next summer.’

The Countries With The Best Architecture

There really are some amazing pieces of architecture all over the world. Whether it’s history, houses, or monuments, there’s just something in every country that really will take your breath away. If you are lucky enough to live in something that’s so unique in terms of architecture, you’ll know how breathtaking it can be. The creativity that goes into some of the buildings is amazing. It takes skill, patience, and vision to be able to produce some of the best. This article is going to explore what countries we think has some of the best architecture you’ll see.

Singapore

Singapore is one of the coolest countries there is. It offers so much in terms of culture, and architecture. The architecture is so varied, with a wide range of both old traditional style buildings, and the new modern ones seen all over the country. The modern ones are pretty cool to look at. Singapore is a rising country and since their economy has improved so has the buildings. One of the most unique ones the country has to offer is the Singapore’s Marina bay by Ingenhoven. The winding wooden walkways create such an intriguing pattern that can be seen from above. Whilst it may not be a building, this funky design will definitely capture your attention. The houses out there are pretty unique as well. A lot of them feature tranquil gardens with pools to rival a spa, and the actual design of the houses are so funky.

Australia

We all know some of the most famous monuments in Australia. In Sydney you have the Opera House which is just a truly stunning piece of Architecture. The time it took to design and actually build was so immense, but the outcome was worth it. The houses and apartments out there are also pretty cool. A lot of apartments are open and glassy, which gives the apartment such room to breathe, and from the outside looks really good. There are always so many being built as well, so there’s always apartments for sale. A lot of the area is filled with skyrise buildings which really do seem to tower over you. Compared to a lot of other countries in the world, Australia’s architecture is new, fresh, and we like it.

Amsterdam

Amsterdam’s architecture is all pretty unique. It’s also famously known around the world. Those rustic tall buildings have rarely changed since the day they were built. But it is these high rise apartment blocks that everyone loves. They tower over you as you walk down the canals, and really are a wonder to look at. The canals themselves are another amazing piece of architecture that should be appreciated. They twist and wind all around the city making an amazing scenic route for tourists.