Rodolfo Rodriguez tutored by Kenny Kenugasa-Tsui and Justin C K Lau from Oxford Brookes University has been selected as finalist of the RIBA Bronze Medal award. His project ‘The Glassblowing Workshop of Venice ’ was selected from submissions from over 240  School of Architecture around the world.

For more information: www.horhizonunite.blogspot.com

Student statement

During the Renaissance, glassblowing was the lifeblood of the Republic of Venice, and Venetian glass played a significant role in the economy. This meticulous craftsmanship has carried through its tradition to the present day. However, this cultural heritage is highly insular and hidden within the fabric of Venice. Hence, tourists are unable to access the knowledge of the glass masters to participate in this unique theatrical making.

The project aims to speculate and celebrate this once glorified industry that can provide a sustainable future to ‘open up’ a new era for young talents and tourists to engage this long established cultural heritage. Sited by the waterfront of Murano, the proposal provides a new home for traditional glassmakers. It consists of a large workshop, a permanent glass museum, a bio fuel farm and a new public landscape for the local community. 

The research began in a hidden workshop where I learned the glass blowing techniques from a glassblowing master. This rigorously tactile process and hands on experience which later fused with digital design and synthetic aerodynamic stimulations allowed me to derive my own set of architectural tools to explore architectural skins and fluid circulation strategies.

The design of the building is embodied by a three dimensional skin which sits sympathetically within the surrounding context of the Island. The geometry of the overarching form articulates the volumetric organization of the interior spaces which offers visitors a natural instinct to navigate the building. It filters soft natural light and ventilation into the workshop and galleries as well as giving shades and shelter to the outdoor landscape. When entering into the workshop, the visitor’s senses are amplified by the heat and sound of the furnace and the visual opulence of the skin provides a ritualistic setting for the glass makers to showcasing the craftsmanship. Together, it creates a sense of up lifting spirit and optimism for the tradition.

Environmentally, the workshop revolves around a sustainable system that encompasses the production of glass through a series of sand and water filtration processes as well as utilizing the bio-fuel farm and thermal exchange to provide renewable energies for the use of the building.

360°immersion online application available from 24th March 2011, 24:00

launch-event will take place on 24^th March 2011, 19:00 at Gregor Titze Studio, Fenzlgasse 35, A1140 Vienna

{cityscape.at} is virtual public space for exploring, wandering, wondering and speculating.

{cityscape.at} is an online application for 360° immersion into a setup of panoramic city views. The webpage features a real-time engine creating a layered city landscape. Especially fitted photographic imagery of cities worldwide is provided. Users may choose up to three cities that will be shown within each other: a multiple horizonscape. More of a caricature of google’s “street view”, {cityscape.at} builds an image sphere around the viewpoint. The photographic image orbit can be navigated and altered by users from within.

In addition to that, the homepage will present texts by Nic Clear and Pedro Ignacio Alonso adding understanding.

{cityscape.at} is virtual public space and will be published under the conditions of a GNU public license – a licensing form that enables people to further develop the code on the basis of this piece of work, which at the same time is protected from proprietary usage.

{cityscape.at} is a project by Eva Sommeregger, funded by the Margarethe Schütte-Lihotzky research grant 2010 awarded through the Austrian Ministry of Education, Art and Culture.

Edmund Drury tutored by Kenny Kenugasa-Tsui and Justin C.K. Lau from Oxford Brookes University has been selected as one of the best student projects in Britain by Blueprint Magazine.

For more information: www.horhizonunite.blogspot.com  

Sara Shafiei and Ben Cowd’s project ‘The Crown of Esfahan’ was praised by Rachel Cook in a special episode of the Culture Show about this years Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.

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L.A.W.u.N (Locally Available World unseen Networks) Projects made by IU faculty members:  David Greene, Samantha Hardingham, Rowan Mersh, Theo Spyropoulos, Shin Egashira, Isabel Peripherique, Edwin Kendall.

Text & Images: Samantha Hardingham and David Greene/The Invisible University; digital photography and imagery by Kevin Shepherd and Sara Shafiei

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The Palo Monte, Ritual Centre

Author: Sara Shafiei and Ben Cowd

Under the tuition of Shaun Murray and Dr Marjan Colletti

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The Project is a building design for a Palo Monte Ritual Centre, situated in the National Botanical Gardens, Havana, Cuba. The Palo Monte is a popular Cuban religion that originated in the Congo region of Central Africa.

Throughout the design process we worked hard to develop a language of architecture that could symbolically and spiritually represent the Palo Monte religion. We used drawings, collages and study models, built from natural and local materials to experiment with materiality, spirituality and spatial conditions. Oceanic art, architecture and pattern making inspired the form and organization of the building and resulted in an architectural language personal to the Palo Monte’s history, beliefs and culture. The reading of the building aims to educate visitors and tourists of the true practice of Palo Mote, unveil the mysteries behind the religion and lay to rest the common misconceptions and myths surrounding it.

We experimented with bamboo forming, bending and layering techniques to create the 7 spiritual ‘pods’ in the building. Each pod represents a specific god and responds to the very unique and functional, spiritual and symbolic requirements of the Palo Mote.

The building is hoped to be an opportunity for Cuba to experiment with this sustainable building material and learn and develop the various processing and construction techniques to enable them to use bamboo throughout Cuba.

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AD: EXUBERANCE

Guest edited by Marjan Colletti (Bartlett unit master- unit 20)

Exuberance features UNIT 20 projects by Ben Cowd, Johan Voordouw and Tobias Klein

Link to amazon.co.uk

Poetic Landscape 如詩,如畫

Author:  Justin C.K. Lau in collaboration with Jimmy Hung and Mark Ng

Globalization creates standardized and indistinguishable cities. Globalization also diminishes cultural and historical values which we must protect for our future generations. The vision is aimed to transform the 2km2 of Jiangnan, a rich plain topography with long established history and heritage into a dynamic mixed use development. It would not only generate a welcoming destination for live, work, learn and play, but also to create a place with a strong sense of cultural and architectural identity, which will embrace the misty beauty of Qing Pu.

Concept – Chinese watercolour landscape painting

We see the master plan of Qing Pu as a traditional Chinese landscape painting where water, mist, clouds and mountains merge to become a beautiful depiction of China’s nature. The form of expression abstracts nature to create a sense of peace and harmony. The proposal is conceived as an integrated design consisting of a well balanced mix of commercial, retail, residential, education, leisure and cultural venues to form a highly sustainable and ecological urban space. Our vision is to create a truly harmonized area where live work learn and play would blend into each other just as the mountains, the clouds, the forest and the water would merge on a Chinese watercolor painting. The existing master-plan zonings are characterized by the nature into four primary elements.

Mountain: work

Bamboo: live 

Cloud/River: learn,play

The Master-plan incorporates with the current master plan which is divided by a major highway with a strong east-west axis. We proposed one minor change by relocating small portion of residential units as low rise town houses along the river-front as a continuous ribbon to blend in with luscious landscape. The reason is to preserve its local character where some existing low rise houses with merit should be considered to be retained as heritage. Shards of shear rocks, the commercial premises of the site sits on the southern side stoically upon flowing banks of rivers, lush vegetation and ponds form the backdrop to compliment the rivers of Qing Pu. Mid-rise residential towers scatter in and out of the Clouds, where cultural and entertainment activities take place. Designated retail opportunities (e.g. tea houses, fish market, souvenir shops, art galleries, restaurants) are travel destinations along the river front, linked by water buses, cycle paths and pedestrian walkways which form a romantic promenade. This encourages a pollution free leisure route that leads to a large public piazza, surrounded by civic activities such as indoor and outdoor galleries, amphitheatre and a public library which is shared with the educational facilities. It creates a destination for the people to meet and allow tourists to orientate themselves along the region.Various open spaces are located on the southern and northern part of the master-plan to encourage social interactions and to promote outdoor recreational activities. Educational facilities and sports grounds are located at the quiet corner on the West. A designated running path threads through the sports grounds, cultural zone and residential areas  to create an exercising path that promotes a healthy lifestyle. Other functional areas on the site are tied together by meandering routes which encourages pedestrian and cycle access.

• Compliment the water front view of the region with a backdrop of artificial mountains
• Take full consideration of the site’s cultural background and its historical context
• Develop a urban space topology and featured urban identity whilst connecting with neighboring sites
• Create a unique landscape to reflect the culture of Qing Pu
• To interact the greens, water and ecology with urban activities
• To make use of water for transport and cooling