ABSOLUTE TOWERS

Client: Fernbrook Homes/Cityzen Development Group
Status: First prize in international competition. Under Construction
Location: Mississauga, nr Toronto, Canada
Type: Residential Apartments
Building Area: Phase 4: 45,000 sqm; Phase 5: 40,000 sqm
Building Height: Phase 4: 56 stories/170 m; Phase 5: 50 stories/150 m
Directors in Charge: Ma Yansong, Yosuke Hayano, Dang Qun
Design Team: Shen Jun, Robert Groessinger, Florian Pucher, Yi Wenzhen, Hao Yi, Yao Mengyao, Zhao Fan, Liu Yuan, Zhao Wei, Li Kunjuan, Yu Kui, Max Lonnqvist, Eric Spencer.

PROJECT SUMMARY
Modernism has a famous motto: A house is a machine for living in. However, as we increasingly leave the machine age behind, we are left with a question: what message should architecture convey today? What is a house for now?

Like other fast developing suburbs in North America, Mississauga is seeking a new identity. We want to take this opportunity to respond to the needs of an expanding city, to create a landmark that can be loved by the people who live there.
In place of the simple, functional logic of modernism, our design expresses the complex and multiple needs of contemporary society. This building is more than just a functional machine: it responds to its location at the junction of two main streets to become a gateway that signifies entrance to a city. It is something beautiful, sculptural and human.

Despite its landmark status, the emphasis is not solely on height. In our design, a continuous balcony surrounds the whole building, eliminating the vertical barriers that are traditionally used in high rise architecture. The entire building rotates by different degrees at different levels, corresponding with the surrounding scenery. Our aim is to provide 360 degree views, to awaken the city dweller’s appreciation of nature, and to get them in touch with the sunlight and the wind.

The Absolute Tower has been nicknamed Marilyn Monroe by the locals.

Absolute Tower Mississauga images / information from MAD Aug 2008 / 160309. For more informatio about this article, please enter this site on Absolute Towers.

English Mosque Design : text from Makespacearchitects

Muslims are the fastest growing population in Britain, and mosque building has expanded exponentially over the last two decades to reflect this this trend. With debate raging on how Muslims position themselves in modern Britain, we think the buildings they build can positively contribute to an emerging and confident British Islamic culture.

Makespacearchitects have been working on a series of mosque designs in and around London, and in each have been developing a contemporary language of Islamic architecture that could be considered as a British evolution of the Islamic tradition.

A key aspect of mosque design lies in the close working relationship the architect has with the mosque committee and local community. Mosques are mostly small and local, set up and supported by the local muslim community, and therefore above all it must have a resonance for these users and meet their practical and symbolic needs.

Each mosque is therefore a negotiation between the communities expectations, the requirements of local planning policies, and the architect's aesthetic and cultural vision.

Mosque committees often have particular expectations of what a mosque should look like. These ideas are often rooted in certain interpretations of Islamic history, which centre on the architectural elements of the dome and minaret. The form of these elements and the style of their decoration has varied throughout Islamic history, depending on which culture implemented them.

We believe that an indigenous British Islamic architecture is a continuation of this process of interpretation and reference to tradition. As there are no actual requirements of what a mosque needs to be, other than the prayer being oriented towards Makkah, the formal responses are open to interpretation and suggestion. It is important to refer to elements that people perceive as traditional, as the mosque must have meaning for the people that use it as well as being a symbol for the ongoing evolution of the Muslim world, of Islamic tradition and of the diversification of British society.

Mosque building in London is a sensitive and intricate process. As architects we are negotiating the complexities of London's urban fabric, the desires and politics of a mosque community, the weight of Islamic architectural history, and demands of rapid cultural change.

London Mosque Design Images / information from Makespacearchitects 240409,or go to this url site on English Mosque.

FLUID - AMPHIBIAN PAVILION YEOSU KOREA - WORLD EXPO 2012

The pavilion is prototypical architecture, drawing from the multidisciplinary source of product design- urban planning-architecture and naval design. The pavilion is resolved as a vessel - a floating exhibition space that can be sailed to other cities. It's an evolution of architecture- a futuristic adaptable living building that can adapt to suit an unknowable future. Its ingenuity will encourage multidisciplinary problem solving through sustainable solutions.

The concept, as presented, allows for the evolution of the schematic design which is alive, adaptive, and reactive to its oceanic environments. It aims to create a strong expression of the exhibition theme "The Living Ocean and Coast". Anchored to the coastline as if a living organism, rising and falling with the tides, the Pavilion illustrates the strong bond and interdependence of the ocean and the coastal eco system. The design sequesters the theoretical sciences and biology, taking contours from fluid dynamics and oceanic organisms showing the previously static building model to be outdated welcoming a new paradigm of living architecture. The pavilion becomes a vessel filled with analogous relationships to technology and marine life.

Yeosu is an emerging young city that demands a radically new metaphor. This vessel can carry the metaphor of change like an ark to the new world, a positive message to future generations, offering a platform for people to collaborate and create. Sustainability and conservation run through the design approach, allowing continued use of the pavilion well after the world expo has concluded. The open interior incorporates enough flexibility to accommodate all types of events and uses, while being financially efficient and optimizing investment returns, ensuring the full viability of the project.

Ocean conservation at an international and regional scale will be given an iconic beacon with its extensive exhibition program, promoting the commitment and efforts of Yesou and Korea in exploring environmental issues beyond the 2012 World Expo. "Fluid" the Amphibian pavilion will promote dialogue and encourage collaboration between Asia pacific countries about the importance of the preservation of oceans and ecosystem.

See full article on www.e-architect.co.uk