A team of young German architects is envisioning a new method of construction that challenges our very notion of building materials. Many a design plan strives for an ‘organic’ or ‘natural’ appearance, one that seems to blend into and coexist with its environment, but Oliver Storz, Ferdinand Ludwig, and Hannes Schwertfeger, are constructing buildings from the environment itself, bending and grafting trees around and into each other to form sophisticated structures. The architects build their ‘arbo-architecture’ structures around metal support frames, which guide and constrict the growth of young trees into set forms. Once they mature, they are pruned so [...]

We’ve previously written about projections on buildings, and the technology and application of it seems to be proliferating. This time, NuFormer Digital Media from the Netherlands brings us a video demo of custom made 3D projections made to fit each building.

Projection on Buildings from NuFormer Digital Media on Vimeo.
[ via Scene 360 ]
Custom Interactive Projections On Buildings

To promote their Karen Walker paint line, New Zealand’s Renese commissioned a wonderful set of miniature Bauhaus structures that serve as three dimensional paint charts. The diminutive buildings, intricately and lovingly modeled by Auckland sculptor Gidon Bing and designer Katie Lockhart, model various Karen Walker color sets, evoking the Bauhaus’ masterful insistence on craftsmanship and simplicity.
[via Inhabitots]

No matter how far architecture has advanced thanks to innovative designs and modern materials, much of its creative process is still stuck back in the 20th century, until now. Online startup Woobius offers a set of easy to use information sharing tools that have been developed by an architect to enable fast, intuitive collaboration.
Woobius’ features include an online ‘dropbox’ that allows file sharing between firms, and a ‘vault’ that allows for online collaborative document work—so that companies and architects around the world can stay on the same page while dealing with ongoing projects, no matter how complex. The site, which now boasts [...]

For the past 15 years, Victor Li and his colleges have been developing various breeds of next-generation concrete.  Their latest version is extremely flexible, and can heal cracks with the help of some light moisture. If this concrete composite is cracked in any way, dry material exposed by the opening reacts with water and carbon dioxide in the air to form scar tissue made of calcium carbonate.
This material does cost three times as much as traditional concrete, but will save money over time, due to decreased maintenance costs.
[National Geographic via Gizmodo]

Unsightly construction scaffolding could soon be a thing of the past for Sydneysiders.  Under the new City of Sydney plan, scaffolding typically covered in construction mesh may soon be replaced with large images and artworks.  A few Sydney construction sights have already ‘wrapped’ their scaffolding.  Westfields Pitt Street Mall development drew on bright artworks from the Museum of Contemporary Art; whereas the historic Myer site of Market and George St took a subtler direction, replicating a scale image of itself over the construction.
City of Sydney spokesman explains the plan:
Current industry practice is to use green or black mesh on the [...]

As a cultural complex, Kring in Seoul, Korea, hosts public performances, events, and exhibitions. From the architect’s perspective, the building also serves to brand and emphasize the city’s cultural side, while also differentiating itself from other buildings.
[via Design Boom]