architecture

Snohetta’s competition winning design for Oslo’s Bjorrvika district, introduced as a catalyst for change in the run down harbor area of Oslo represents the largest single-culture political initiative in contemporary Norway; and has reaped international architectural recognition.

The government hoped the opera house would be a monumental building that would place Norway on the cultural map whilst highlighting both the social and cultural importance of The Norwegian Opera and Ballet.

A strong geometric form cuts through the landscape, rising dramatically from the harbor, a rogue iceberg encroaching on the city; with its sweeping marble roof offering a suggestion of public space; a stark, aggressive gradient that engages visitors to experience the building in an unprogrammed way. You can run over the opera house. Magic.

The architects’ idea was that the roof should be treated as a natural landscape and visitors must simply watch where they walk. It is refreshing to see a publically accessible building that refuses to treat visitors like children, and although the roof is closed off when it is icy (sickening when you are there in the snow, craving the possibility of a breathtaking sledding experience) the remainder of the time it offers itself as a generous, playful and engaging addition to the urban public realm.
By contrast, the interior is a more modest environment. Voluptuous, undulating oak walls engulf the main auditorium and dictate the form of the foyer space. Unlike other opera houses and theatres, where the visitor is often met with an awkward theatrical foyer, the entrance here is vast and welcoming and it is not until the visitor reaches the staircases or curved auditorium walkways that they feel like they are entering a theatre.

Snøhettas architecture is a narrative. Materials become defining suggestions of journey and movement through the building. The richness of this oak cladding hugging the movement channels to the auditorium adds a warm, textural dimension to the design that would not look out of place in one of the building’s 19th century precedents; yet the space is totally technical. Each curve and fold in the dramatic timer façade designed to give perfect acoustic resonance to the space for orchestral performances. This is echoed through the stage set design, comprising of over sixteen individually controlled acoustic elements that can be angled in any direction to achieve enchanting audio perfection.

The considered use of materials to define space is truly absorbing, and vital to the way in which the user experiences the building. The junctions between arctic white marble, warm oak, and crisp glass not only dictate spatial understanding but also emphasize the role of transitions encountered in the journey through the architecture, from the aggressive geometries of the exterior to the curvaceous embrace of the interior. These transitional connections also operate on the urban scale, the building seamlessly connecting city and fjord, urbanity and landscape, visitors and the natural environment.

Steve Wilkinson

Read the rest of BREEAM Awards Showcase the Most Outstanding Green Buildings in Europe Permalink |
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Olson Lewis Dioli & Doktor Architects recently shared their appreciation of upcycling with youngsters at the Brookwood School Sustainability Fair by teaching them how to turn trash into treasure. The firm taught children at the elementary school how to save simple wooden pallets from the incinerator and craft their very own bird abodes! The children were provided with a premade kit made from the wooden pallets, and had help from architects on the scene to piece the parts together. The result of their efforts was a batch of adorable, hand made birdhouses perfect for encouraging birds’ own form of upcycling – nest building. The Sustainability Fair, which was open to the public, successfully gathered students, parents, community members, and organizations, in order to promote the use of sustainable practices, like upcyling, “a life-long habit”.Thanks for the tip Henry Louis Miller! + Olson Lewis Dioli & Doktor Architects Permalink |
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Most Americans would have a fit if their credit card or cell phone company sent a dollar amount at the end of the month with no itemized description to match. But we tolerate it from our utility companies with little complaint. If we’re going to change our energy habits, we’re going to need more information to do it. What kinds of information motivate consumers and what kinds irritate them? OPOWER, an energy efficiency software company, is betting that a new version of an old classic — the report card — will strike the right balance. Read the rest of OPOWER Encourages Efficiency With Energy Report Cards Permalink |
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Last week, we brought you news about Chef Daniel Angerer’s special cheese made from his wife’s breast milk, and boy did that open a can of worms! While we expected knee-jerk ‘EEEWWW‘ reactions from people, we didn’t really imagine the extent to which people would get up in arms about this issue – something which in our minds is totally natural, organic, harmless, and not gross in the slightest. People got so concerned about the breastmilk cheese issue that apparently the New York Department of Health came to pay Angerer a visit over the weekend.Well you can rest assured that Angerer’s “My Spouse’s Mommy Milk Cheese” is not being sold to the public at his restaurant, Klee Brasserie – he confirmed that on the radio today. But we still don’t see what is so awful or scary about the idea of serving, local, organic, healthy food made from breast milk. After all, you have to admit that when it comes to foods that are organic, local, natural and free, human breast milk ticks all the boxes. And, remember, the stuff is naturally DESIGNED to be the ultimate human sustenance. So what do you think? Would you eat cheese made of human breast milk?READ MORE AT INHABITOTS > Permalink |
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Photo: JurvetsonTelecom giant Nokia recently filed a patent for a cell phone powered by kinetic energy (one of our favorite kinds of energy here at Inhabitat!). The conceived phone would charge via built-in piezoelectric generators that will convert the user’s motions into power. Now, we’ve seen a ton of kinetic gadget concepts, but the fact that Nokia is taking interest and has gone so far as to file a patent is significant evidence that we may soon be seeing these types of electronics hit the market. Read the rest of Nokia Files Patent for Kinetically Charged Cell Phone Permalink |
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(A house anxiously awaiting its erasure. Photo by Kane Cunningham.)

UK landscape artist Kane Cunningham is planning to rig his new home with cameras not to film the stunning views of the North Yorkshire coast but to document its imminent destruction. Sitting precipitously close to the edge of a cliff, the house could fall off at any moment. Coastal erosion has already eaten away most of the garden.

Some nearby houses were similarly threatened by coastal erosion but were condemned and demolished in advanced of the migrating cliff edge. Cunningham, however, wants the climate-changed sea itself to devour his bungalow.

Interestingly, Cunningham bought the it, worth £150,000 two years ago, for just £3,000 on his credit card, “a deliberate financial transaction suggesting the link to credit, subprime mortgages, property ownership, debt, loans, the financial markets, property speculation, boom and bust.”

“It’s global recession and global warming encapsulated,” adds the artist.

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Snohetta’s competition winning design for Oslo’s Bjorrvika district, introduced as a catalyst for change in the run down harbor area of Oslo represents the largest single-culture political initiative in contemporary Norway; and has reaped international architectural recognition.

The government hoped the opera house would be a monumental building that would place Norway on the cultural map whilst highlighting both the social and cultural importance of The Norwegian Opera and Ballet.

A strong geometric form cuts through the landscape, rising dramatically from the harbor, a rogue iceberg encroaching on the city; with its sweeping marble roof offering a suggestion of public space; a stark, aggressive gradient that engages visitors to experience the building in an unprogrammed way. You can run over the opera house. Magic.

The architects’ idea was that the roof should be treated as a natural landscape and visitors must simply watch where they walk. It is refreshing to see a publically accessible building that refuses to treat visitors like children, and although the roof is closed off when it is icy (sickening when you are there in the snow, craving the possibility of a breathtaking sledding experience) the remainder of the time it offers itself as a generous, playful and engaging addition to the urban public realm.
By contrast, the interior is a more modest environment. Voluptuous, undulating oak walls engulf the main auditorium and dictate the form of the foyer space. Unlike other opera houses and theatres, where the visitor is often met with an awkward theatrical foyer, the entrance here is vast and welcoming and it is not until the visitor reaches the staircases or curved auditorium walkways that they feel like they are entering a theatre. 

Snøhettas architecture is a narrative. Materials become defining suggestions of journey and movement through the building. The richness of this oak cladding hugging the movement channels to the auditorium adds a warm, textural dimension to the design that would not look out of place in one of the building’s 19th century precedents; yet the space is totally technical. Each curve and fold in the dramatic timer façade designed to give perfect acoustic resonance to the space for orchestral performances. This is echoed through the stage set design, comprising of over sixteen individually controlled acoustic elements that can be angled in any direction to achieve enchanting audio perfection.

The considered use of materials to define space is truly absorbing, and vital to the way in which the user experiences the building. The junctions between arctic white marble, warm oak, and crisp glass not only dictate spatial understanding but also emphasize the role of transitions encountered in the journey through the architecture, from the aggressive geometries of the exterior to the curvaceous embrace of the interior. These transitional connections also operate on the urban scale, the building seamlessly connecting city and fjord, urbanity and landscape, visitors and the natural environment.

Steve Wilkinson

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Tower City, another concept from the 2010 eVolo Skyscraper Competition, re-envisions the city of Marseilles as a stacked skyscraper that sits on stilts above the water. Rather than letting cities spread out as population increases, a the design calls for a new city to be created out on the water, complete with work, housing, transportation and amenities. The futuristic development is based on a stacked framework built using recycled building materials from the old city.Read the rest of Tower City is an Ecotopia Stacked Upon Stilts Permalink |
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Eventually, we’d like to think that everyone will be driving around in all-electric cars. But in the meantime, it’s important to develop efficient gas engine technology. That’s where a new system from Transonic Combustion comes in. The California-based startup has developed a fuel-injection system that can improve the efficiency of gasoline engines by 50%. Read the rest of Transonic Combustion’s Super-Efficient Gas Engine Gets 98 MPG Permalink |
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Wait! Before you go to toss your old computer, cell phone, or other electronics out, take a look at our tips on how to discard of them in a way that has the least environmental impact. E-waste is a huge issue right now and your electronics could end up in landfills, with toxic chemicals seeping into our ecosystems and polluting our waterways. Why not avoid all that with these easy and creative ways to get your obsolete gadgets and gizmos out of your house the responsible way?READ MORE > Permalink |
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