Wallpaper gives us a intriguing look into Bark Design Architects‘ interactive floor plan on the design for their house on Discovery Coast.

Bark Design Architects’ eco-friendly philosophy made them the perfect candidates to design this new beach house on Queensland’s fragile Discovery Coast landscape. Nestled within the beach’s sand dunes and endemic vegetation, the house is strongly linked to its sensitive yet gorgeous natural surroundings as well as the area’s architectural history. (more…)

Ningbo Contemporary Art Museum Image Courtesy Thomas Stellmach

The Schelling Architecture Foundation has awarded Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu of Chinese practice  Amateur Architecture Studio with the architecture award totaling 30 000 euros.  Every two years since 1992, the foundation has honored individuals who have responsibly advanced architecture’s development with significant designs, realized buildings,  or with profound contributions to architectural history and theory. (more…)

This modern monolith in Madrid, Spain will have you spinning in circles for its unusual architectural style and striking appeal. Appropriately called the 360 House, this interior courtyard design by Spanish architects Subarquitectura impresses from every angle. This spiraling structure winds around itself in a linear layout that begins on the upper level, overlaps itself and ends on the lower level overlooking the pool. In this case, a picture really is worth a thousand words so check out the photos to get a feel for this contemporary style home. Windows line the exterior wall, flooding interiors with natural light and pointing residents and guests to the 360-degree views of the gardens. From the outside, the black-slate facade is a striking contrast to the cool, modern interiors finished in white. (more…)

Ultimate Factories on the National Geographic Channel is back, once again delivering an in-depth look at what goes into the production of some of the world’s top automobiles. Along the series, we’ve been taken inside factories producing the Rolls-Royce Phantom, Chevy Corvette, Chevy Camaro SS, Porsche 911 and the Lamborghini Murcielago. The next show features Audi and the production of their flagship R8 supercar. Be sure to tune in on Monday, April 26th, at 10PM ET/PT.

“Our cameras go inside the Audi R8 factory in Neckarsulm, Germany and follow the crafting of a road car modeled after a champion racecar. With the introduction of the R8, Audi breaks out of its elegant sedan image to create a sportscar that rivals the likes of Porsche and Lamborghini. Modeled after the R8 racecar that dominated at LeMans, the Audi R8 road car is a mid-engine two-seater with explosive power and a smooth ride. Audi has combined all of its engineering innovations over the last few decades into this one sportscarall wheel drive, an ultra-light aluminum spaceframe and high-tech fuel injection. Since its launch in 2007, the super sleek R8 has appeared in many films and TV shows, including: Iron Man, Transformers, Dirty Sexy Money, CSI: Miami, Chuck, and 17 Again. This car is grabbing the attention of sports car fanatics, photographers and automotive journalists all over the world.”

“Today in Paris, the grand gentleman of preppy American style Ralph Lauren brings his vision to the Left Bank, opening the ornate doors of his latest and largest retail space (expanding on his retail presence on Place de la Madeleine and Avenue Montaigne). Fittingly for a brand that epitomizes the US high life—with its polo matches, yachts and country clubs—the store inhabits an 18th-century townhouse on the Boulevard Saint Germain. Sporting a classical façade rich with carvings and, on the interior, parquet floors and timbered ceilings, the building has been restored over four years to recreate the grandeur of the period when it was built. With six floors of retail space—including a dedicated watch salon and an attic stocked with RRL, a line previously unavailable as a complete collection outside of the US—the building also houses Ralph’s, a chic restaurant in the old stables, whose raison d’etre is to serve the best burgers and brunches in the city. NOWNESS offers an inside peek into the various stages of this extensive renovation, captured rigorously on film by Helmut Hutter, accompanied by “Distant,” a new track from Parisian DJ and producer Chloé’s upcoming album One in Other.”

Via Nowness

The exhibition ‘All or nothing’ – Robert van ‘t Hoff, architect of a new society will show the oeuvre of architect and theorist Robert van ’t Hoff (1887-1979) and gives an insight into his personality. The work of the avant-garde architect, who was a member of the ‘De Stijl’ movement, reveals his deep social commitment. The exhibition will run from April 2 until August 29 2010.

An unusual feature of this retrospective exhibition is the complete interior of a study designed by Van ’t Hoff for his home in New Milton, which was recently donated to the museum by his daughter Megan van ’t Hoff (1922-2009). This interior and various other previously unknown objects featuring in the exhibition provide new insights into Van ’t Hoff’s struggle to rejuvenate architecture and realize his Utopian socialist philosophy. (more…)

We’ve all scene the Martin Scorsese directed ‘Bad’ video by Michael Jackson and many pondered ‘where the hell did they shoot this video?” For those who still don’t know, that train station is the Hoyt-Schermerhorn stop in Downtown Brooklyn. Soon it will be become a Michael Jackson-theme subway stop celebrating the video shot 23 years ago. The NY Post reports this might include a full-size mural, lights and projection at night.

“We see this as a great opportunity to potentially establish Hoyt-Schermenrhorn’s role in American pop culture and as a tourist destination to attract people to a part of Downtown Brooklyn already rapidly growing,” said Joe Chan, president of the partnership

I’m not to keen on the latest developments of capitalism that are taking place in Ethiopia, from new banks to multiple story building suddenly blossoming out of the ground. In my eyes, Ethiopia is one of the holiest of holiest territories and ancient countries in all of Africa, with the trace of roots of the Ethiopian dynasty linking back to the 10th century BC. Not to far away is Dubai, where for the past several years has been massive amounts of construction for over the top luxury resorts to now end up in financial turmoil, I would hate to see the same happen to Ethiopia.

German firm Henn Architects has won the competition to design the new headquarters of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The proposal was designed by Henn Architektens Design & Research studio in Berlin, Hennstudiob.

The building will be the tallest building ever in Ethiopia, consisting of 42 storeys. The tower is accompanied by a conference center and a shopping mall , where they are clustered around a sunken landscaped plaza. The classical high-rise plinth dissolves into individual volumes to merge the scale of the surrounding district.

View more images of CBE Headquarters after the jump (more…)

Located in the heart of one of the wealthiest and historic neighborhoods in Brooklyn, New York is the infamous “Clocktower” apartment complex. The complex stands as a triplex penthouse apartment with a price tag of $25 million.

The main floor has four working clocks housed in four 14-foot-high round windows, which provide nearly unobstructed views (except for the clock faces) out to the four points of the compass.

The 3,000-square-foot main floor has an open living room, dining room and kitchen with 16-foot-high ceilings. A glass-walled elevator and a three-story floating staircase at the center of the space lead to smaller floors that narrow toward the top of the tower. There are three bedrooms on the 2,300-square-foot second floor, and on the floor above that, a 988-square-foot open loft with a 15-foot ceiling. Finally, up a narrow staircase at the very top of the building is a tiny windswept crow’s nest.

The apartment was created by David Walentas, the creator of the Dumbo neighborhood, in an old industrial building built by a cardboard box manufacturer. Mr. Walentas renamed the factory the ClockTower Building and converted it first into offices for the New York State Labor Department, and then, in 1998, into 124 condominiums. (more…)

CSD Archtecten is a trio of creatives made up by; Britt Crepain, Stefan Spaens and Joep Debie. They designed this house that is located in the center of Antwerp, Belgium. Despite the confined space, the house eloquently contains four split level floors, a basement, ground floor, and a roof terrace. CSD Archtecten had to be extremely inventive to optimize the space of every room. For instance, behind the door in the library there’s a wash room. Take a tour of the interior after the jump! (more…)