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 “Between the corporeal units there lie the various empty fields of tension that hold the parts together like planets in a void“ (Manifeste du corréalisme, F. Kiesler).

The Endless House is called the “endless” because all ends and meet continously. It is endless like the human body. There is no beginning and end to it. The “Endless” is rather sensuous. More like the female body in contrast to sharp-angled male architecture. All ends meet in the “Endless” as they meet in life. Life’s rhythms are cyclical. All ends of living meet during twenty-four hours, during a week, a lifetime.

Kiesler talked repeatedly about an elastic spatial concept, wich must be capable, even in a small house, of providing an optimun response to the very varied social concerns of its occupants.

 “Since Kiesler’s death in 1965, his notion of Endless Space and his studies of the Endless House in particular, have resurfaced in recent architectural discourse. New technologies have emerged that are now provoking different questions regarding the tectonics and material potentials within the concept of The Endless House” (Frederick Kiesler – Inside the Endless House, Matthew Krissel).

http://dprbcn.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/endless-house-frederick-kiesler/

As it happens in the lines of nature, Ito seeks formal freedom in the design that best adapted to the needs of their spaces. Ito embraces the apparently irregular qualities of nature’s ever-evolving presence. The capabilities of the current collaboration between design and structure calculation allow this game. The design is composed of three covered areas strung. Each shell is partially covered by glass roofs articulated in a scale-like manner; the rest is covered by vegetation. Thereby, it creates a continuous surface that twists into different vaulted spaces, adjusted to the scale of greenhouse contained. Thus we understand the building as an area that stands over the natural floor, creating spaces below and above it.

New Amsterdam Plein & Pavilion in New York

UNStudio’s initial conceptual design for New Amsterdam Plein & Pavilion calls for a 5,000 square-foot,  carefully programmed space located within The Battery’s Peter Minuit Plaza, named for the enterprising Dutch Director-General who in 1626 consolidated the early settlements at the tip of Manhattan – a grouping that came to be known as New Amsterdam. Within the open space of the Plein, visitors will find UNStudio-designed seating and tables.  These will surround a highly sculptural pavilion with an expressive, undulating roofline and curving walls – a compact little building with the authority of a major landmark, evoking a flower opening to its surroundings.  The pavilion will be equipped with an electronic facade LED system that allows for a constantly changing light show at night, “an experience that will carry the animation and drama of the day into the evening,” according to van Berkel.    Van Berkel’s pavilion will offer “a superb culinary experience, great visitor orientation information and materials, and an iconic, recognizable spot for residents and visitors to rendezvous.” New Amsterdam Plein will also feature berms and perennial garden planting beds, designed by New York City Parks & Recreation using the color palette of Piet Oudolf, who created The Battery Bosque Gardens and the Battery’s Gardens of Remembrance. New Amsterdam Plein & Pavilion will be a dramatic space where more than 5 million people a year, including 70,000 daily commuters and 2 million annual tourists, can find an extraordinary “outdoor living room” for spontaneous and scheduled activities, public markets, seating and shade, and an iconic state-of-the-art pavilion for food and information.

http://plusmood.com/2009/09/new-amsterdam-pavilion-by-ben-van-berkel-unstudio-unveiled-in-battery-park-new-york/

The Chair One by Konstantin Grcic, is a beautiful structure inspired chair that is both simple and complex. Its simplicity is seen in its defined lines and its complexity is highlighted in the engineering ingenuity that is behind it. It was inspired by a football, which is created by assembling a number of flat surfaces @ different angles, hence creating a three dimensional form. This structural logic was reached after many sketches, cardboard models, and  prototypes. The final chair design was composed of  treated aluminum and a polyester powder coating.

The Burnham Pavilion by Zaha Hadid Architects triggers the visitors’ curiosity and encourages them to consider the future of Chicago. “It’s about reinvention and improvement on an urban scale and about welcoming the future with innovative ideas and technologies. Our design continues Chicago’s renowned tradition of cutting edge architecture and engineering, at the scale of a temporary pavilion, whilst referencing the organizational systems of Burnham’s Plan.” said Zaha Hadid. “The structure is aligned with a diagonal in Burnham’s early 20th Century Plan of Chicago. We then overlay fabric using contemporary 21st Century techniques to generate the fluid, organic form – while the structure is always articulated through the tensioned fabric as a reminder of Burnham’s original ideas.” The pavilion is composed of an intricate curved aluminium structure, with each element shaped and welded in order to create its unique fluid form. Fabric skins have been tightly zipped around the metal frame to create the curvilinear shape. The interior skin also serves as the screen for a video installation by Thomas Gray that explores Chicago’s past and future.

“Fabric is both a traditional and a high-tech material whose form is directly related to the forces applied to it – creating beautiful geometries that are never arbitrary. I find this very exciting.” explained Hadid.

http://www.dezeen.com/2009/04/16/burnham-pavilion-by-zaha-hadid-architects/