The Economist featured an interview with Michael Pawlyn discussing sustainable architecture inspired by nature. Michael Pawlyn is known for his passionate investigations of the unique, efficient structures of natural organisms and how they may translate through design. Biomimicry has been an important topic amongst the innovators and educators who are learning from the 3.8 billion years invested into the design of our natural world.

The shell of an abalone is “twice as strong as the toughest man-made ceramic.”

Continue reading for the complete interview.

Earlier this month, a Washington D.C District chapter opened their doors to the streets near Chinatown and the Penn Quarter. The office joined other East Coast chapters in the movement promoting visibility, transparency and sustainability in architecture.

Unsangdong Architects have nearly finished the steel structure of the “Culture Forest”, revealing the distinctive figure of the Culture & Art Center in SeongDong-gu, Republic of Korea. Read the architect’s description and view schematic renderings on our previous post.

More photos after the break.

Architects: Unsangdong Architects – YoonGyoo Jang, ChangHoon Shin, SungMin Kim Location: 656-323, SeongSu-dong, SeongDong-gu, Seoul, South Korea Client: Municipality of SeongDong-gu Structure: Steel framed reinforcement concrete Use: welfare, education and research, culture, nursery school Site Area: 1694m2 Bldg Area: 1001.77m2 Gross Floor Area: 9597.37m

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Ron Arad and Asa Bruno welcome BD to their studio for an exclusive view into the inner workings of their practice. In 1981, Ron Arad established his first design studio ‘one off ltd”. Over the years, the practice has evolved into Ron Arad Architects and has become known for their unique ethos that challenges the relationship between form and function.

The Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum is now accepting nominations for the 13th annual National Design Awards – honoring lasting achievement in American design. “The awards are bestowed in recognition of excellence, innovation, and enhancement of the quality of life.”

Prefabricated concrete shells become emergency shelters for flood-ravaged communities in Pathum Thani. The concrete forms are intended to be used for the construction of Bangkok’s elevated skyway. The company that owns the shells has given the temporary residents permission to stay and access to electricity. Residents have expressed preference of the makeshift community over government shelters due to “familiar faces” and more space.

Kanner Architects is collaborating with UMAMI Group, creating a concept restaurant called UMAMI KO (U-ko). The modular burger shack is meant to inhabit urban settings worldwide, creating a comfortable indoor/outdoor experience within an environmentally sensitive structure.

Architects: Kanner Architects Client: Umami Group Project Area: 2,240 sqf

Fentress Architects was recently honored with six awards from the Chicago Athenaeum, the American Institute of Architects, and the Design Build Institute of America for their design of the most technologically-advanced airport in the nation, a national museum in D.C. showcasing the history of the Marine Corps and two mixed-use high rises in the United Arab Emirates.

Continue reading for information on the awarded projects.

Jeanne Gang presents Studio Gang’s vision for the transformation of Cicero, Illinois, a 1920’s suburb that suffered greatly from the foreclosure crisis. Studio Gang is one of five interdisciplinary teams participating in “MoMA’s Foreclosed: Rehousing the American Dream.” Each team is challenged to re-imagine struggling American cities and suburbs, seeing the current economic crisis as an opportunity to evolve.

The World Monuments Fund (WMF) is calling for international attention to the 1969 Preston Bus Station. Once the world’s largest bus station, the brutalist monument is scheduled for demolition as part of the city center’s redevelopment plan. The building is one of thirty UK “at risk” sites featured by WMF.

Recent recipient of the 2011 Holcim Gold Award for the North American region, Lateral Office’s Arctic Food Network is a series of strategically distributed shelters addressing food security, biological and wildlife species management, and provides a safe navigation system across Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada.

Architect: Lateral Office Location: Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada Collaborators: InfraNet Lab, Dr. Claudio Aporta Advisor: Nunavut Department of Culture, Language, Elders, and Youth Project Team: Mason White, Lola Sheppard, Nikole Bouchard, Fionn Byrne Start of Construction: May 2012 Images: Lateral Office

Continue reading for more detailed information and images.

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Open Source Ecology

Continue reading for more information and videos.

This short film by Pablo Casals-Aguirre captures the formal perfection and daily life within Louis Kahn’s architectural masterpiece, the Salk Institute. Kahn was commissioned in 1959 to design the inspiring facility for scientific research. The iconic facility became a designated San Diego Historical Landmark in 1991 and continues to attract daily admirers from all corners of the earth.

San Diego Planning Commission has approved Zaha Hadid’s La Jolla Residence. Along with the San Diego firm Public, Hadid will demolish an existing house on a half-acre site at 8490 Whale Watch Way, replacing it with a 12,700 square foot home comprised of four bedrooms, six bathrooms, and an indoor pool. The firm has described the home as an “introverted sculptural structure.”

The Japanese Government has revealed a radical plan to construct a standby city for Tokyo. The Integrated Resort, Tourism, Business and BackupCity, known as IRTBBC, will provide backup to the capital in an event of an immobilizing earthquake.

Portal to the Point is a design project initiated to honor the completion of renovations to Pittsburgh’s most visible National Historic Landmark, Point State Park. wHY Architecture is one of five finalists selected to redefine the space beneath the Portal Bridge that leads into 36-acre park.

Continue reading for more project information and renderings.

The white veil has been removed, exposing the $6.6 million renovation to the Fifth Avenue Retail Store. Apple started the renovation back in June with plans to improve drainage and pavers, remove the bollards on the plaza, and update the cube.

The High Line stakeholders have publicly committed to develop the third and final section of the High Line at the West Side Rail Yard, between West 30th and West 34th Streets. The private rail company and owner of the High Line, CSX Transportation, Inc, have agreed to donate the last remaining section to the City of New York.