Congruent to popular response (well just one, but even thats great-{brackets inside brackets just got to love it- can't wait for your next comment Oorvi, or anyone else}) I'll make a feature for architects and their 'unique designs' (great way of putting it by the way- read the comment for the previous post), and it shall be named:
"The Good, The Bad and The Ugly"
Today I'll quickly talk about Cybertecture. My friends at least, are aware of my deep loathing of James and his Cybertecture. Which is not to say i hate all his buildings. Some truly capture the spirit of his mission statement which is as follows-
“In the 21st Century, buildings will be different from 20th Century. They are no longer about concrete, steel and glass, but also the new intangible materials of technology, multimedia, intelligence and interactivity."
A growing trend in modern architecture is a split of practitioners into a modern camp and a conservative one. What this has inevitably led to is architecture that either uniquely utilizes modern technology and materials or buildings constructed of conventional and vernacular techniques. The best designs incorporate both of these elements in a fusion of styles (I'll talk about these at some other point though).
James Law Cybertecture International has a tendency to be in the first camp with outrageous designs that are especially annoying within their context. For example
The iPad in Dubai stands out incroguosly and is in effect a garish display of bad taste. Buildings that utilize such blinding influences should strive to retain the fact that it is a building rather than a scaled up iPod..
On the other hand there is the wavefront project in Dubai
This 9 storey residential project retains visual momentum without seeming monotonous, with enough wavelike patterns disturbing the simple design to make it appear in motion.
Laws project garnering the most attention at present is the cybertecture egg in Mumbai.
On the whole the project is impressive from an engineering perspective due to its use of solar panels for energy generation and the fact that the 'skin' of the egg can maintain spans upto 30m. Its design is simple yet elegant utilizing a simple form and creating variation through the use of lattice frame. On the whole the project is a wonder yet retains the major problem i mentioned earlier, you could place this building anywhere in the globe and it would fit. While that may not seem a problem from an energy perspective its a pure catastrophe. Tropical climates like Mumbai have such high heat and humidity that glass frames create an unnecessary burden on the energy load that could simply have been avoided and from a design perspective an opaque panel would remove the fragile appearance the structure gives.
Well thats it for my short opinion and same as usual if you have comments etc. etc. etc.
(NOTE-Don't forget to vote in the poll)
Until Next Time
Lewstherinthefang
