Floating homes of the future

By Bethany Lyttle | Forbes.com – Fri, Sep 28, 2012 5:28 PM EDT

The Pearl eco houseboat. (Photo: Orhan Cileli)

Life at sea — it sounds far away, like a distant lifestyle reserved for Navy seamen, ocean trawlers and submarine captains. But as shorelines recede, populations grow and property-ownership ideas evolve, designers and architects are prompted to re-think how — and where — we live. Many look to the water.

Shaped like domes and flowers, few of these notions of futuristic dwellings will ever go beyond the design stage. However, this doesn’t mean homes that float, submerge or drift on rivers are the stuff of sci-fi.

“Just because a design vision is not built yet, does not limit its potential impact,” says Maria Lorena Lehman, Founder of Sensing Architecture, an online forum for architectural design, science and new technologies. “In fact, by proposing new ways of living, including on the water, architectural design is advanced, and in turn, human life is improved.”

Here are five examples of how people might be living on the water someday:

Pearl

This open-sea eco houseboat is the brainchild of industrial designer Orhan Cileli. Most houseboats have flat bottoms so they rock heavily if they hit big waves. Pearl's design would be stable and efficient out at sea. In fact, the houseboat was actually inspired by a fishing bobber.

There's more to the Pearl than cool-looking design, though. The four-story house, which has a deck and greenhouse, would make use of alternative energy technologies, including wave and solar energy, to move it around and provide electricity.

(Photo: WHY)

WHY Floating Home

With more than 3,000 square feet of living surface and three levels of decking, the WHY concept yacht is designed for living — and entertaining. In part, what distinguishes the design is its emphasis on sustainability (relative to other yachts.) The vessel relies on thermal energy and recycled organic and inorganic waste, ideally resulting in a low impact on the sea. Luxurious and easy on the eye, the minimalist interiors features walls of glass, modern furnishings, an elaborate curved staircase and a tree growing in the center of the living space.

(Photo: Hyun Seok-Kim)

Fioriella

Hyun Seok-Kim designed this quaint floating retreat. Closed, it looks like an egg. Open, its petal-like panels resemble a lotus flower. The interior of Fioriella includes a convertible sofa-bed for day/night relaxing. There's a deck at water level so residents can lounge and view passing scenery. Best of all, the cabin is designed to provide underwater panoramic views. A jet engine and eight nozzles keep the pretty vessel afloat.

(Photo: Le 2 Workshop)

House On Water

Designed by Jedrzej Lewandowski of Le 2 Workshop, this floating house features a lower deck and elevated main house. And while it may look completely futuristic, the floating home actually exists. The vessel was conceived as a vacation rental.

The idea was to allow folks on holiday to have the experience of a yacht without navigation or a bumpy ride. Solar panels on the top of the house are among its eco features. It also includes systems to remove salt from the water and has SMART controls allowing for adjustments via a computer.

(Photo: Koen Olthuis)

The Citadel

This floating apartment complex was designed by Koen Olthuis of the Netherlands. Thanks to the use of water-cooling techniques, the multi-family residence will reduce energy consumption by about 25%.

The design is a response to the the ever-encroaching waters in the Netherlands. Rather than fight this in traditional ways, such as with dykes, Olthuis is embracing the environmental changes and designing to adapt, instead. The apartment building will be built on top of a floating concrete caisson foundation and will include 60 luxury apartments, a parkade, and a floating road to get there. Each unit will have its own garden terrace and of course, water view.


Source(http://homes.yahoo.com/news/floating-homes-of-the-future.html?page=all)

The Shard, Europe's tallest building, launched amid debate

By James Pheby | AFP – 2 hrs 23 mins ago

• View GalleryWorkmen clean the exterior of The Shard on April 16, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)

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• The Shard tower in central London …

Europe's tallest skyscraper the Shard was inaugurated in London on Thursday in a dazzling sound and light show befitting its status as the capital's brashest and most controversial building.

Thousands of Londoners gathered at vantage points around the city and lined the River Thames to take in the show, but the structure has been the source of heated debate during its gradual rise above capital's skyline.
Twelve lasers and 30 searchlights lit up the night sky from the dramatic glass and steel structure -- which stands 310 metres (1,017 feet) tall -- connecting it to other London landmarks as the London Philharmonic Orchestra provided the soundtrack.
The building was earlier officially launched by Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani, whose country funded the building, and Queen Elizabeth II's son Prince Andrew.
Prince Andrew said he hoped the building would give the local area "a huge new boost" during the formal ceremony.
London mayor Boris Johnson sang the Shard's praises, calling it "a quite astonishing piece of architecture".
"Of course it's not like any piece of architecture in the city at the moment, but that's the whole point about London," Johnson told BBC radio.
But in a nod to Londoners' split opinions on the building, he added: "I think it is important that we do not pepper-pot the city with skyscrapers everywhere. There's got to be control."
The Shard's inauguration marks the completion of the exterior of the building, located on the south bank of the River Thames at London Bridge, while work on the inside is expected to continue into 2013.
The skyscraper, whose name was coined by its Italian architect Renzo Piano, is still significantly shorter than Dubai's 828-metre Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.
It takes over from Capital City Moscow Tower as the highest in Europe.
The 95-floor building has a glass facade covering the equivalent of eight football pitches, while the volume of concrete used in its construction could fill 22 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
It has capacity for 12,000 people and will contain a five-star hotel, 600,000 square metres (6.5 million square feet) of office space, luxury restaurants and shops.
The jagged-tipped skyscraper will also house 10 apartments, reportedly costing up to £50 million ($78 million, 62 million euros) each, which on floors 53 to 65 will be the highest residential properties in Britain.
Developer Sellar Property said it hopes the Shard's viewing decks, offering 360-degree panoramas, will become a major tourist attraction.
"It will become as essential a part of a visit to London as going to the top of the Empire State Building is for visitors to New York," said company chairman Irvine Sellar.
The building will open as a tourist attraction in February and more than 17,500 people have already registered interest online. Advance tickets are available from Friday.
The £450 million ($705.4 million, 560.70 million euro) project was 95 percent funded by Qatar.
The tiny oil-rich Gulf state has a growing London property portfolio that also includes Harrods department store and the Olympic Village.

But the building's futuristic silhouette has angered traditionalists who say it has dwarfed older landmarks such as St Paul's Cathedral and the Houses of Parliament.

English Heritage, the body responsible for protecting historic sites, says the skyscraper mars a view of St Paul's, while UNESCO has said it compromises the "visual integrity" of the Tower of London, a World Heritage site.
One commentator compared the Shard's impact on the skyline to the recent destruction of ancient shrines in Timbuktu in Mali.
"Timbuktu's shrines can and surely will be rebuilt," Simon Jenkins wrote in the Guardian on Wednesday. "The Shard has slashed the face of London for ever."

Piano, who also had a hand in the design of the Pompidou Centre in Paris, has defended the building against claims it is an overbearing presence on the skyline.

"This building is not arrogant," he told AFP in February.

"When you're making a building like this, that's so important for the city, you have to be absolutely sure that it's the right thing to do... as an architect, if you make a mistake it stays there for a long time."

Source(http://news.yahoo.com/londons-towering-shard-set-launch-103925459.html)