NBWW BLOG…

Plus, a $7.5 billion digital city outside Las Vegas, housing for dementia patients by IKEA, and more design-tech news from this week. By Katharine Keane As part of its annual research demonstrator program, the Institute for Computational Design and Construction at the University of Stuttgart revealed its 2018/2019 pavilion inspired by the wings of ladybugs. Made of carbon and fiberglass-reinforced plastic, the structure features two adaptive folding elements and seating modeled from the pattern of the insect’s wings. “Many beetle species cover their thin and fragile hind wings with more robust forewings,” the team describes in a project description. “Through analysis and mathematical geometric descriptions, it was possible to investigate and abstract the...

by Christele Harrouk The Chicago Architecture Biennial has released its cultural agenda for this year’s edition of the international exhibition. Held in the Chicago Cultural Center and all over the city, from the 19th of September 2019 till the 5th of January 2020, this edition under the theme of: … And Other Such Stories, is going to be curated by the artistic director Yesomi Umolu, the executive director Todd Palmer and co-curated by Sepake Angiama and Paulo Tavares. With more than a 100 cultural, civic and educational event activating the American city of Chicago, the largest contemporary architecture, art, and design exhibition of the continent will put in place accessible, diverse and inclusive programs, such as curatorial talks, workshops, performances and film screenings....

These true originals have made their mark in our homes, on the road, in our offices, and on our skylines By Elizabeth Stamp Some designs are smart. Some designs are beautiful. Some designs are instantly ingrained in our lives. It’s the rare design that combines all three qualities. Some date back to the late 1800s; others just came on the scene in the past few years. But no matter how long they’ve been around, these buildings, objects, and other designs have had a massive impact on the daily lives of people around the world. These products and projects demonstrate ingenuity as well as an eye for beauty and function. Some are the first of their kind, while others took existing concepts and made them better and more accessible to the masses. They’ve fought off competitors and knockoffs...

The organization awarded funding to 215 humanities research, education, cultural preservation, film, exhibition, and virtual reality projects. By Madeleine D’Angelo The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has announced the recipients of $29 million in grants across 215 projects relating to humanities research, education programs, cultural preservation, films, exhibitions, and virtual reality projects across the country. As part of this funding, the NEH also participated in several cooperative agreements, including a $500,000 matching grant with Washington, D.C.–based nonprofit the National Trust for Historic Preservation to protect historic buildings and sites on some of the country’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The NEH awarded these peer-reviewed...

Get a great perspective of all that is happening in downtown Tampa on Water Street in this video tour by TampaAerialMedia. NBWW‘s contributions to this mixed-use development:JW Marriott TampaThe EDITION Hotel (AoR)Tampa Marriott Waterside Check back soon for annual video updates on the project.

Watch John Nichols and Alexandra Champalimaud talk about the design of the currently under construction, JW Marriott Water Street Hotel in Tampa, Florida. Introducing the JW Marriott Tampa from Water Street Tampa on Vimeo.

The 11th Architecture & Design Film Festival will bring interesting buildings and the people who design them to the silver screen this October. By Audrey Wachs It’s back: The 11th edition of New York’s Architecture & Design Film Festival (ADFF) is set to bring interesting buildings and the people who design them to the silver screen this October. The five-day event is the largest design-focused film fest in the U.S., with almost 30 films that explore the structures and people who shape space. The kickoff event is an October 2 walk through SoHo centered on short films. The main event, meanwhile, will begin on October 16, halfway through Archtober, the all-things-buildings celebration hosted by the Center for Architecture. All of the films will be screened at Cinépolis Chelsea...

Aaron Betsky argues that we should preserve the art of drawing by hand, but not fetishize it. By Aaron Betsky A good architecture drawing is a joy to behold. Since I was a child, I have lost myself in the intricacies of perspectives, sections, and, later on, axonometrics, isometrics, sectional perspectives, worm’s eye views, collage facades, and all the other ways architecture appears as a pure image. In recent years, the possibilities have expanded because of computer-assisted or -driven visualization technologies. This has led to an ongoing debate about the nature and future of drawings in an age when representations can appear with little assist of human hands. One of my students, Sol Edelman, went so far recently as to accuse me of trying to force him to make drawings “that don’t...

Google has released a beta feature for its Google Maps service called Live View, which uses augmented reality to show users which direction to walk in. Natashah Hitti Google has released a beta feature for its Google Maps service called Live View, which uses augmented reality to show users which direction to walk in. Launched on 8 August, Google’s Live View mode uses the phone owner’s camera, location data and visual information from Street View to tell them where to go when exploring an unfamiliar city on foot. To use the augmented reality (AR) feature, the user simply holds their phone up to their surrounding environment and selects Live View in Google Maps. Giant arrows, directions and street names pop up on the user’s phone screen, overlaid on the scene in front...

Eliminating plastic from the seas is not possible and new materials need to be developed instead, according to the founder of Parley for the Oceans. Marcus Fairs Eliminating plastic from the seas is not possible and instead new materials need to be developed to replace plastic, according to the founder of Parley for the Oceans. Cyrill Gutsch, who founded the organisation to tackle ocean pollution, made the claim in an exclusive interview with Dezeen. “To be very honest, I don’t believe that we’re going to clean up the oceans,” said the German-born designer, whose organisation partners with brands including Adidas and Stella McCartney to turn marine plastic waste into products such as trainers, swimwear and football shirts. “My personal opinion is that the...

Plus, the next version of the Cradle to Cradle Certified Product Standard is up for comment, and more design-tech news from this week. By Katharine Keane According to a recent Fast Company article, design startup Geoship has partnered with online shoe and clothing retailer Zappos to build a series of bioceramic domes in Las Vegas to be offered as housing for the city’s homeless population. Geoship reports that its structures are less expensive to construct than conventional housing, can withstand fires and hurricanes, and “reconnect human communities with the natural world.” “[T]o really solve the affordable housing crisis you have to … transcend the single-family home with land ownership and take land speculation out of the picture,” Geoship...

Miami Riverside Center now has an engineer. Bliss & Nyitray, Inc announced on social media last week that they had been hired as the engineer for the project. The company will be working on multiple 40 story residential towers, as well as 19-story office tower. Miami voters approved a deal last year that will see the city of Miami administrative building demolished and replaced by developer Adler Group. Miami Riverside Center “will change the style of living, working, & socializing on the [Miami] River,” Bliss & Nyitray promised. NBWW is the architect. Source: The Next Miami Engineer Says They Have Been Hired To Begin Work On 40-Story Downtown Miami Towers