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Architects: Tsou Arquitectos
- Year: 2013
Novaoptica Optic Store / Tsou Arquitectos
The Fragrance Kitchen / ARCHJS
Cabanas no Rio / Aires Mateus
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Architects: Aires Mateus
- Area: 26 m²
- Year: 2013
Qatar National Convention Centre / Arata Isozaki
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Architects: Arata Isozaki
- Year: 2011
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Manufacturers: Gustafs, HAVER & BOECKER, Skyfold, Campolonghi, City Gates, +6
Kipco Tower / SSH International
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Architects: SSH International
- Area: 96185 m²
- Year: 2012
Parking is Hell (But Designers Can Help)
Most parking is free - but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a high cost. A recent podcast from Freakonomics Radio examined parking in US cities, investigating the “cost of parking not paid for by drivers” - a cost paid not just by the government, but by the environment - due to congestion and pollution caused by people searching for kerbside parking. For example, in a 15 block area of Los Angeles the distance traveled by drivers looking for parking is equivalent to one trip across the USA per day.
One potential solution which they discuss is a San Francisco project called SF Park, which makes use of sensor technology to measure the demand for parking in certain areas of the city and adjust price according to demand. In theory, this would create a small number of empty spaces on each block and dramatically reduce the time that many drivers spend cruising for parking spaces.
Though the idea is certainly an intelligent approach to the problem of kerbside parking, unsurprisingly all this talk of supply, demand and pricing sounds very much like an economist's answer to a problem. But what can designers do to help the situation?
Perhaps, from the designer’s point of view, the real problem with kerbside parking and surface lots is that they are always seen as a provision “coupled with” a building or area of the city. There have been a number of attempts by architects – some successful and some tragically flawed – to make parking spaces less of a rupture in a city's fabric and more of a destination in themselves. Could these point to another way?
Read about 3 examples of parking’s past, and one of its potential future, after the break...
4 Architects Among Recipients of $50,000 USA Fellowships
Although the amount may be nowhere near a MacArthur "genius grant," the $50,000 Prizes awarded by United States Artists are given on the same, awesome premise: no strings attached.
This year's 50 recipients included visual artists, dancers, musicians - and 4 architect/designers. Check out the lucky 4, after the break...
O-14 / Reiser + Umemoto
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Architects: Reiser + Umemoto
- Year: 2010
House in Ovar / Paula Santos
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Architects: Paula Santos Arquitectura
- Area: 680 m²
- Year: 2008
S Cube Chalet / AGi Architects
Paramos House / Atelier Nuno Lacerda Lopes
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Architects: Atelier Nuno Lacerda Lopes
- Area: 783 m²
Vidago Palace & Spa / Álvaro Siza Vieira
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Architects: Álvaro Siza Vieira
Private House In Barcelos / Rui Grazina
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Architects: Rui Grazina
- Area: 300 m²
- Year: 2011
MOP House / AGi Architects
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Architects: AGi Architects
- Year: 2011
Paredes School Center / Atelier Nuno Lacerda Lopes
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Architects: Atelier Nuno Lacerda Lopes
Private House In Barcelos / Rui Grazina
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Architects: Rui Grazina
- Area: 300 m²
- Year: 2011
Chapel Tree of Life / Cerejeira Fontes Arquitectos
Humboldt Box | Berlin / Krüger Schuberth Vandreike
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Architects: Krüger Schuberth Vandreike
- Year: 2011