We just found this short video by French architects, COMCECI. The video provides a snapshot of their project “Mobîlot,” an installation set in the public streets of the city that is comprised of “mobile terraces” on a dis-mountable metal structure the size of a parking space. Closed, the structure provides a quick resting place for passersby, and open, the wooden inner furnishings are the perfect place to enjoy a bite to eat with others. Enjoy!

As promised, we are starting our coverage of the Living Architecture houses beginning with MVRDV’s Balancing Barn. We first shared this project awhile back on AD, and now, since the home’s completion, we have new interior shots of the rent-able residence.

More about the home and more interior images after the break.

A few weeks ago, we shared Tim Stephens’ urban farm model – an organized set of plots for people to grow their own food – and, today, we feature his Fakro House. For this small residence, Stephens incorporated the local vernacular into a modernist retreat in the Whangaripo valley. By acknowledging the site’s importance, in terms of views and ecological values, Stephens’ design is a smart fit for the New Zealand location.

More about the project and more images after the break.

Yung Ho Chang, founder of Atelier FCJZ, China’s first private architectural practice and head of the Architecture department at the MIT, delivers the first BIArch Open Lecture of the Spring 2010 cycle: “China, Carb, City, China”.

The introduction of this lecture was given by Albert Ferré, director of Actar. You can see the video of the introduction after the break.

Beautiful museums from all over the world. From a museum made of stone in China, to a refurbishment project in USA, and even a Nestlé Chocolate Museum in Mexico. Check them all after the break.

Ningbo Historic Museum / Wang Shu, Amateur Architecture Studio Iwan Baan shared with us one of the latest works he photographed, the Ningbo Historic Museum designed by Wang Shu, Amateur Architecture Studio. An amazing stone work (read more…)

Today, our Facebook Fan Page reached 100,000 fans. We are very happy of the amazing group everyone has helped us achieve. To celebrate it, we’re launching the second edition of “Architecture Offices Around the World”. Last year, through the Facebook Fan Page, we asked you to take a photo of your office and upload it. We received many, and selected a few which you can see right here. This year we want to do the same, but with a small giveaway. Among all the photos we receive, we’re giving two DVD’s of “Rem Koolhaas: A Kind of Architect”.

As we reported earlier last week, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson’s newest Apple store (and China’s first!) opened on July 10. For the past five years, photographer Roy Zipstein has been documenting the stores, traveling to America, Europe, Asia and even Australia to highlight the artistry of the sleek structures. Similar to how it takes a certain kind of architect to manifest Apple’s aesthetic and technological philosophy in built-form, it takes a certain kind of photographer to capture that essence on film. Zipstein commented via Bernstein&Andriulli, “The Apple Stores are so beautifully designed, inside and out. It’s been very interesting to witness the design process evolve over the last few years, through the use of different materials such as glass, stainless steel and stone, and the evolving interpretation of the interior space. Having the architects present at some of these shoots and being able to exchange thoughts with them has been an added bonus for me.”

We’re excited to share Zipstein’s latest photographs from Shanghai! And, be sure to see our previous set of images thanks to Flicker user Lesh51.

Australian architects Lacoste + Stevenson (in association with DJRD and 6degrees) shared with us their project oUTStanding, for which they won first prize in the UTS Podium Competition in Sydney.

You can see more images, a video and architect’s description after the break.

When the Chicago Magazine shared Robert Sharoff’s piece on the late Harry Weese with us, it piqued our interest and we began to took a closer look at the life and work of this talented architect. As Sharoff notes, at Weese’s prime, he was the leading architect of Chicago – a man focused on historic preservation and focused on manifesting Miesian principles in a new light. Sharoff’s and our deeper look into Weese’s work is an attempt to infuse the architect’s reputation with positivity, not letting his architectural achievements become clouded by his later struggle with alcohol.

More about Weese’s life and projects after the break.

Turkish Architects 1/1 Architecture sent us this 2nd prize winner entry for the “Murat Gunduz – 2 Temmuz Canlar” MemorialPark Competition in Sivas, Turkey.

Some more images and the architects description after the break.

On June 24, Zaha Hadid was honored as the UNESCO Artist for Peace, an award bestowed upon a person who promotes the values of the organization, specifically by creating the conditions for dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples, based upon respect for commonly shared values. “The arts have always bridged cultural, economic and social divides; teaching us that disparate worlds are not mutually exclusive, but rather layered upon each other and profoundly interlinked. I am honored to join the Artists for Peace, furthering UNESCO’s important message and programs,” said Hadid.

More about the award after the break.

Wing Yi Hui and Lap Ming Wong, two students from Hong Kong studying at The Oslo School of Architecture and Design, have shared their wooden pavilion with us. The performance-oriented design studio, under the guidance of Professors Michael U. Hensel, Defne Sunguroğlu Hensel and Dr. Birger R. Sevaldson, gave the students the opportunity to explore the performance of the wood and create a “customization possibility” within the constraints of a “platform of standardization.” The designers explained, “By understanding the performance of material, and allowing it to perform its intrinsic properties, innovative and sustainable methodology of architectural production could be emerged as a natural response. Deformation of wood due to moisture is no longer a nuisance but a benefit to fabrication.”

Check out their process work and even more about their project after the break.

The winning and honorable mention entries from the Dingbat 2.0 Competition were announced at the LA Forum’s Dingbat 2.0 Exhibition opening on Saturday, June 19th, at LA Forum Events at Woodbury Hollywood. There were eight professional winners and five student winners selected from over 80 entries from 18 countries (number of ‘winners’ includes honorable mentions in both categories). The work of the thirteen winners is being exhibited at the Dingbat 2.0 Exhibition through July 24th.

All the winners and honorable mentions after the break. For complete descriptions of each project, click here.

A zoo nursey in Chile, a winery in Argentina, and three really amazing houses in India, Portugal and Singapore. Just a few selected projects of what you may have missed last week. Check them after the break.

Cliff House / Khosla Associates The house is located in Chowara, a fishing village, 30 minutes from Thiruvananthapuram, in Kerala, South India. Perched 200 ft. above an expansive stretch of green along the Arabian Sea coast, at the edge of a cliff, its most prominent feature is an asymmetrical sloping roof set against the fronds of a coconut plantation. Opening its embrace to the warm sea breezes, the home covers an area of 1397 sqm (read more…)

The goal of the workshop is to understand methods of translating geometry from Rhino/Grasshopper into Ecotect, and specifically, the process of shaping geometry that performs optimally within a specific location on earth. The workshop will begin by covering intro + advanced grasshopper techniques, followed by an introduction to using Ecotect to produce solar radiation studies, day-lighting studies, shadow analysis studies, climate analysis studies, and computational fluid dynamics analysis studies. The last stage of the workshop will cover the process of manipulating geometry in grasshopper via analysis/values obtained from Ecotect.

This year’s theme for the London Festival of Architecture, “The Welcoming City”, inspired Superblue Design to create an installation where all could sit together to enjoy the space, but also take an active role in making that place. Entitled Giant Knitting Nancy, the project is a metaphor for the “interwoven cultures, spaces and places that help make the London a distinctive place.” By collaborating with sculptor Dan Preston and jewelry designer Holly Packer, the team created a large-scale knitted structure which doubles as an “interactive architectural seating unit.”

More about the installation after the break.

Roots Architecture is an international workshop aimed at making the connection between humanitarian, emergency and other basic architecture provision in the developing world, and that of the world music community, as showcased at Womad. The idea is to inspire both the general public and the architectural and built environment communities both in terms of materials and projects .

A few days ago, we shared C. F. Møller Architects‘ winning entry for the Kristiansund Opera and Culture Center entitled Kulturkvartalet. This project shares its joint first place prize with Oslo based architecture and design office Space Group + London based Brisac Gonzalez. The team of Space Group and Brisac Gonzales have designed a 15, 000 m2 opera and cultural house with a 600-seat auditorium, library, cultural facilities, restaurants and a youth center. ”Our strategy is threefold: a full refurbishment of the building skin, an upgrading of the structure, and an extension of the top floor with roof terrace. The ground floor is conceived as a living room, with spaces for music, newspapers, studying, playing. The café opens graciously to Kongensplass – an urban garden,” explained the team.

More images and more about the winning proposal after the break.

With all the projects we feature, it becomes second nature to envision yourself occupying that space if not only to critique its success, but also to merely imagine what it would be like to live there. But, what if, instead of just daydreaming about living in a certain residence designed by your favorite architect, you could actually spend a week or two in a house designed by Peter Zumthor, or JVA, or even MVRDV? Living Architecture, a new not-for-profit organization, offers the chance to rent houses in different areas of Britain for a vacation starting at £20 per person per night. ”We are dedicated to introducing you to the best of contemporary architecture, as well as to curating unique and enjoyable holidays,” explained the organization.

Olson Kundig Architects share with us the T Bailey Offices in Anacortes, Washington, which explore the idea of using the client’s product— pipes used in wind turbine towers — in the construction of their headquarters. This 11,700 square foot office addition adjoins the existing heavy industrial manufacturing plant of T Bailey. All steel fabrication and erection takes place in the plant adjoining the project.

The general guidelines can be read on the website and is free of charge for students who wish to have their work published, both to help them find a job as well as help future architecture students get an idea of what a final project is as well as help them consider weather or not Architecture is their passion and which school fits best with their design concepts.

Mumbai-based iStudio Architecture shared with us their Brick House, a great project using bricks, stone, wood, bamboo and ferro-cement. The house, located in Wada, is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

More images and architect’s description after the break.

A sculptural installation by VeeV Design, entitled Field Rupture, rests upon the courtyard of a 1950s modern house in Berkeley Hills, California. Since the installation is applied over the topological surface, the shifting ground conceptually pushes the surface vertically, and, as the name implies, this action causes the surface to “rupture.” Using a laser cutter to produce the digital fabrication, the sheet metal formation seems to burst from the ground as a “figure of two planes pushing against one another.”

A reader recommended to us this fantastic video by Berlin-based DJ Efdemin (Phillip Sollmann). You can see amazing pictures and footage for Mies van der Rohe’s Lake Shore Drive Apartments. Video was made by Jutojo and Sollmann himself. Enjoy it!