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Posts with tag architecture

House With Legs Can Walk. Seriously.

by Dan Reilly, posted Oct 22nd 2008 at 1:49PM

Wouldn't it be nice to have a portable home without the stigma attached to RVs? That's sort of, well, not really, the idea behind this walking house, designed by Danish art collective N55 and MIT engineers. The domicile sits on six hydraulic legs that can move at walking pace over any terrain. The legs are controlled by a computer inside the house, each moves independently and three are always on the ground for stability. The point of it all? Floods! If waters level rise, you just stroll away in your house.

The whole pod is about 10- or 11-feet high (different sources had different stats), contains a living room, toilet, bed, and a kitchen with a wood stove. The point of the whole thing is sustainable living, so the house is solar and wind powered. The whole thing costs just under $50,000, but the designers think it can be made for cheaper to gear it towards people on a modest budget. You may laugh, but according to the news, that could be all of us in like a week.

Seriously, though, we really want to know where you're supposed to park this thing, why it's better than an RV (yes, it's all-terrain but it's slow as hell), and does it come in any other colors? We're partial to something a little lighter. Don't miss the video after the break. [Source: The Daily Mail]

Continue reading House With Legs Can Walk. Seriously.

Dubai Skyscraper to Feature Multiple Rotating Floors

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jun 26th 2008 at 6:10AM


Dubai has become synonymous with architectural excess, but the latest creation being proposed for the commercial mecca is something that must be seen to be believed. David Fisher, an Italian architect, has designed what can only be described as the world's first spinning skyscraper. The 80-story residential tower -- to be called the Dynamic Tower -- changes shape as each floor rotates individually, creating a constantly changing facade.

The dancing tower isn't all theatrical extravagance, however. The apartment complex also incorporates a number of new building techniques. In order to speed up construction time, each apartment will be prefabricated in a factory, and then shipped and assembled in Dubai. In between each rotating floor will be wind turbines, horizontally placed so as to be barely noticeable from a distance. Fisher expects the turbines not only to power the new tower, but also to generate enough electricity to feed some back into the grid.

The $700 million tower is expected to be completed some time in 2010. [Source: BBC, and AP]
Engadget

Australian Researchers Developing Shape-Shifting Robots?

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 9th 2008 at 8:10AMBreaking News


There's no shame in admitting that shape-shifting creatures are a touch frightening, but we'll go ahead and warn you -- those spooked by petite bots will be utterly terrified by this. The SkinForm Project has arisen from the University of Technology Sydney, and while there aren't any elaborate details available just yet, it's described as an "intelligent pneumatic structure that transforms dynamically in response to socio-physical context." In other words, it's some sort of shape-shifting, chameleon-like robo-creature.

Additionally, it seems to utilize a plethora of sensors and rely on a good bit of software programing in order to become the transforming architecture that it is. If all goes as planned, the initiative will be completed on June 12th, but you can take a look at a number of in-progress videos right down there in the read link below.

Engineers Invent Liquid-Cooled Buildings

by Tim Stevens, posted Aug 10th 2007 at 1:47PM

Watery Windows Cool BuildingsThis time of year, when the temperatures are soaring, there's nothing like a nice dip in a cool body of water to make the heat tolerable. Who knew the same could be said for buildings? Apparently, a group of Spanish aircraft engineers do.

The engineers recently developed a technique to pump water through specialized double-pane windows. The sun heats the water, which is moved elsewhere and cooled, ultimately preventing the heat from warming the building. This effectively reduces the sun's effect on large glass office buildings, reducing cooling costs by as much as 70%.

The engineers have created a company called Intelliglass to market the idea. Don't expect to see this stuff in your home anytime in the near future, though, as the idea is still in the process of "being born" according to the (automatically translated) press release.

Looks like you're still stuck with Stupiglass for now. Sorry, we couldn't help that one.

From SCI FI Tech

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