This home was made by Bliss Products in North London. It was assembled in 6 days, all the materials were prefabricated before hand and then assembled on site by a grand total of 6 men! Not bad for the next movement of manufactured homes.
Isola Bella, in Italian, translates to ‘Beautiful Island’. It was primarily designed for Carlo III (1586-1652) who named the island in honour of his wife, Isabella D’Adda. Designed to resemble a ship, the palace and gardens were created to be a single unit with the villa built on the narrowest part in the north (forward deck) and the garden on the widest part in the south (after deck). Many important architects contributed to complete this design, which included Giovanni Angelo Crivelli, Filippo Gagnola, Carlo Fontana, and later, Giulio Galliori, Cosimo Morelli, Giuseppe Zanoia, and Luigi Canonica. This truly is Landscape Architecture at its finest!
I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to design with nature when I stumbled across this architectural master piece. Designed by Olson Kundig Architects this single level home in San Juan Islands, WA, was completed in 2010. Made from all natural and basic materials, this building almost resembles a bunker as it is nestled into the rock. It almost materializes from the landscape and then from certain angles, almost fully disappears back into nature. All in all, a perfect harmonious design with architecture and nature.
Just a friendly Reminder of our need for a better waste management system… and the real cost of our wasteful life… enjoy!
An alternative sprawling design for Suburbia…. big swing and a miss! Aside from huge waste of green space that is not utilized, this place looks like it would be a miserable place to live. Everything from the road hierarchy to the location and circular shape just screams Waste! Waste of land, materials, and the designers time.
Image from the “Earth From Above” collection by photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s
Built in the 12th century and still in use today, these housing structures are one of the best examples of timeless sustainable community design. These “Hakka Houses” as they are referred to in the Tulou Province of China can house up to 800 people at a time.They are one of the first examples of a “city within a city” and were designed as small-scale castles in order to provide protection from bandits. These individual structures are just one of many that make up an entire citiy.
I know we have all seen what masive land transformations are taking place in Dubai, but I fell like Yann Arthus-Bertrand captures the essence of the this metamorphosis the best.
This “miniature city” in Viennna is probably the largest example of “sustainable community developmet. This Complex includes:
This complex also has direct access to its own underground rail station.
This crazy 54 acre complex was designed by Steven Holl Architects to be completed in 2011 that includes:
The structures each span over 20 stories and are connected by enclosed sky bridges. It hopes to gain LEED Gold certification with a geothermal power system built below the structure’s frame.
Elaeagnus angustifolia 