Interviews: The Latest Architecture and News

Some time ago we visited New York City based Weiss/Manfredi Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism, to interview founding principals Marion Wesis and Michael Manfredi. The multidisciplinary firm has distinguished themselves with their holistic design approach, successfully integrating the disciplines of architecture, art, infrastructure, and landscape design.

This prototype system, Homeostatic Facade, is the latest in green building design. The line maze like facade consists of material that flexes and bends as an artificial muscle fighting solar heat gain by changing shape on its own. No computer programing or physical adjustments required. The system regulates a buildings climate by auto responding to environmental conditions and has an advantage over other systems because of its low power consumption and localized control.

Check out the video of the moving Homeostatic Facade following the break.

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During the AIA Convention we had the opportunity to talk with Peter Bohlin (FAIA), founding principal of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson and one of the most renowned architects in the US.

During the 2010 AIA Convention in Miami we had the opportunity to interview Todd Walker (FAIA) and Barry Alan Yoakum (FAIA), founders of the architecture/design collective Archimania.

Founded in 1995, Archimania has won over 100 awards, including national, regional and local recognition. More importantly though is how the firm has distinguished themselves by their collaborative design approach, no project to big or to small, relationship with their clients, and innovative solutions to creating real value in their architecture.

Featuring a diverse portfolio that pushes the envelope, Archimania is known for their unique client architect relationship. The firm truly emphases teamwork, focusing on an active listening role with clients, resulting in their Visioning Charrette, a design process that is collaborative – creating places that reflect vision.

Archimania is dedicated to their home state of Tennessee, often utilizing local materials in their designs. Setting themselves apart from the crowd, the firm sees each project as a way of further expanding the community’s ideas about the built environment, recognizing the role of an architect within the community not as a passive one, but rather one as a local leader.

Archimania projects at ArchDaily:

• SkyCottage
• House in the Woods
• Tabor Orthopedics
• Orange House
• Wurzburg Retreat
• DOGone House

More info on their projects after the break:

No vertical farm has been built yet, but there are already several discussions involving the farms of the future. At ArchDaily, we’ve published Vincent Callebaut’s design and Plantagon’s design. In this video, four architects describe their designs for the vertical farms.

Architects: Tangram 3DS Location: Haiti Project year: 2010 Photographs Tangram 3DS

While visiting New York, we had the chance to stop by Brooklyn-based kOnyk Architecture to speak with the firm’s principal, Craig Konyk. The architects categorize themselves as a creative architectural design studio – a characteristic that is evident in all of their work ranging from the smaller scale designs, such as their Hybrid House, to their larger scale proposals for the Museum of Polish History.

Back in June we had the chance to interview Lawrence Scarpa in Miami, at the AIA Convention when Pugh + Scarpa Architects received the 2010 AIA Firm Award.

We visited Asymptote’s new offices in Brooklyn to interview Hani Rashid.

The Taiwan Conceptual Tower International Competition awarded “The Tower of Droplets” Sir Peter Cook and Gavin Robotham’s London-based Cook Robotham Architecture Bureau (CRAB) won second prize for their entry: “The Tower of Droplets in The Taiwan Conceptual Tower International Competition. Presented here is just one of the 237 entries from 25 countries that were submitted. Crab studio recieved a $65,000 award for their entry for Taichung, Taiwan. The team comprised Jenna Al-Ali, Nuria Blanco, Lorene Faure, and Selma Johannson. Consulting engineer was Michael Kaverne of Buro Happold.

Read on for more on the tower after the break.

In their entry for the Solar Park South Competition, the Colombian design team, Jaramillo-Azuero Arquitectos proposed education as the means of sustainability for the future and the result of their submission was being awarded third place in the international competition. Additional images of Jaramillo-Azuero Arquitectos submission and their project concept after the break.

The Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver is on track to open in the summer of 2011. CIRS aims to be the most innovative and high performance building in North America, a “living laboratory” where professors, students and partners demonstrate leading-edge research and develop sustainable design practices, products, systems and policies. The building will push the frontiers of sustainable construction materials and building techniques. It will draw much of its heat from the ground, electricity from the sun, ventilation from the wind, water from the rain–all while reducing the university’s energy use and carbon footprint.