Rotterdam will soon have a new cabinet of curiosities to add to its collection of architectural icons.

For many years the city's Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, originally established in 1849, has required a safer space to house its world-class collection of painting, sculpture and prints. Last week the Municipality of Rotterdam voted in favor of the building’s construction and, with zoning approved, "the world’s first fully accessible art storage facility" is now slated to open its doors in 2018.

The building’s design, architect MVRDV claims, is in harmony with the arrangement of the existing public space. In their words, it is "a compact round volume with a small footprint [...] in order to spare the park." Its reflective glass façade, seen by many critics as the most overpowering and technically dubious aspect of the building's appearance will, in the designers' minds, actually "make the building less visible."

Timber buildings are regularly praised for their sustainability, as carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere by the trees remains locked in the structure of the building. But what if you could go one better, to design buildings that not only lock in carbon, but actively absorb carbon dioxide to strengthen their structure? In this article, Ansel Oommen explores the theory and techniques of Baubotanik, a system of building with live trees that attempts to do just that...

Located on a windswept coast line, Moonlight Cabin is a place to retreat from and engage with the landscape’s ephemeral conditions.

It is a small footprint shelter that explores the boundaries of how small is too small, challenging conventional notions of what is actually necessary in our lives. It is designed to be passively environmentally responsive, ultimately reducing energy use and running costs whilst maximizing occupant amenity.

The built form is fully screened in a spotted-gum rainscreen that acts like a ‘gore-tex jacket’ to protect the cabin from the elements while the timber is free to move naturally in the changing climatic conditions. Operable shutters enable cross ventilation and adaptability, open or closed, partially shut down or secured when the occupants leave and reopened when they return.

Architect Paul Lukez has come up with a concept for a compact home, which would be super insulated and energy positive. While still in the concept stage, it does look quite promising. The design of the home was inspired by New England’s barns and New York’s lofts and that is quite a mixture...

Overlooking the ocean in Victoria, Australia, the Moonlight Cabin by Jackson Clements Burrows Architects is said to engage with the landscape’s ephemeral conditions. Modest in size, the residence answers the living needs of the owners, while making use of sustainable features: “The built form is fully screened in a spotted-gum rain screen that acts like a ‘goretex jacket’ to protect the cabin from the elements while the timber is free to move naturally in the changing climatic conditions. Its small footprint shelter (60m2) explores the boundaries of how small is too small, challenging conventional notions of what is actually necessary in our lives”, the architects explained.

Kinetic Cloud Seeding pavilion creates shade with thousands of tiny balls made from recycled plastic bottles.

This lightweight pavilion may look like a simple canopy structure, but it's actually a fantastic kinetic environment that creates shade thanks to thousands of constantly rearranging tiny plastic balls made from recycled water bottles. Designers at MODU named the project "Cloud Seeding" which is supposed to reflect the effect of passing clouds the pavilion creates.

On a hot day, instead of cranking up the air conditioning, this house transforms: A screen and shell move out to wrap around the entire home, shading everything so it cools down.

"It provides this flexible control over heat gain from sunlight," says architect Todd Fix, who compares the screen and shell to extra layers of clothes you can put on or take off. "So if it's a cold day, the sensor will sense that, and it will close both to keep the heat inside. If you want more light in the space, you can open up the screen or open up the shell."

It's a way to create a passive, zero-energy home without the typical passive house design. "The living area is all glass, from the walls and ceiling to the floors," Fix says. "This opens up a house. Instead of having really thick, insulated walls that are opaque, so you can't see out or see in, it kind of opens you up to the environment."

The windows of this art gallery in South Korea's Paju district are fritted with a pattern that regulates views of the interior, and creates the illusion of fog around the edges of the building.

The varying proportions of these spaces, as well as their varying lighting conditions, present a range of opportunities for displays of sculpture, paintings or multimedia installations.

"Each solid gallery box is thought of as a pavilion that is either suspended above the landscape or placed on top of it," said the architects. "The solid boxes capture shadows of adjacent trees while the transparent boxes reflect the distant landscape."

Switzerland's striking natural landscape offers many picture-perfect views –  but Gautschi Lenzin Schenker Architekten's 'House in Rombach' was designed to make particular use of its bucolic setting. Located in a suburb at the edge of Aarau, the capital of Aargau canton, the area's green vistas took centre stage in the design process. Subsequently, the team focussed on creating a generous top floor, from which the owners and their guests can take in the area's picturesque scenery...

Michael Green Architecture (MGA) and DVVD has teamed up with REI France developments to propose the world’s tallest wood building in Paris. The carbon-neutral proposal, developed as part of the city’s innovative Réinventer Paris competition, aims to alleviate the city’s urban housing challenges.

“Our goal is that through innovation, youthful social contact and overall community building, we have created a design that becomes uniquely important to Paris,” said Michael Green, Principal of MGA. “Just as Gustave Eiffel shattered our conception of what was possible a century and a half ago, this project can push the envelope of wood innovation with France in the forefront. The Pershing Site is the perfect moment for Paris to embrace the next era of architecture.”

A modular greenhouse/storage shed combination is the result of a collaborative effort between two Finnish companies: Avanto Architects and Kekkilä Garden.The versatile structure of wood and glass can be enlarged or contracted based on the owners’ needs. The covered portion is ideal for storage, while plants can be grown in the glass-enclosed atrium. The structure can even serve as an “outdoor” bedroom. The Garden Shed Rest model includes a covered patio between the shed and greenhouse- thanks to a simple setup and elegance of design, the possibilities are endless...

The Energy Efficient Wooden House Zilvar is a residential project completed by ASGK Design and is located in Lodín, Czech Republic. 

'The building is designed within the current building zone of a small village in East Bohemia. It is located at the street end and is separated from open countryside by just a few old trees. The flora, natural pond in the garden and surrounding village buildings led us to design a simple building (space) with variations of a pitched roof. The façade is a play on square windows, some can be opened, some hidden behind wooden planks and providing diffuse light, or in the interior permeating the library. The house is mainly for relaxing, reading and as a refuge.'

Located in the Laurentian Mountains on the southern embankment of the Lievre River in Canada,  the Mont-Laurier Theatre is a multi-purpose venue – theatre, convention centre and concert hall that emphasizes the importance of timber in the region. FABG based the design on an architectural proposition of a structural grid of cross-laminated wood beams that support the roof and create a canopy over the main entrance.

How much kiosk can you get for $75,000? Chicago Horizon probes this question through a quest to build the largest flat wood roof possible. Using Cross-Laminated Timber, a new carbon-negative engineered lumber product, in the largest dimensions commercially available, the kiosk aims to provide an excess of public space for the Architecture Biennial and Chicago beach-goers.

Chicago Horizon is constructed almost entirely out of engineered timber products, including CLT for the roof canopy and glulam columns, making its total carbon impact negative due to the ability of wood to sequester atmospheric carbon. The canopy is to be fully protected by a roof membrane and an exterior grade plywood deck, ensuring its longevity.

More details + information at the link.

Frederic Haesevoets Architecture have designed the City Hall of Herstal in Belgium, which is covered in a patchwork of mini greenwalls...

Foster + Partners has unveiled designs for a droneport in Rwanda, proposed in an attempt to bring more efficient medical care and commercial delivery services to communities in Africa where there is a lack of infrastructure required to meet the population's needs.

The droneport includes a health clinic, a digital fabrication shop, a post and courier room, and an e-commerce trading hub, making it a key civic building in its own local area and its design allows the drones to land safely in a densely packed area.

Scheduled for completion in 2020, the complex of three buildings will allow Redline's network to extend to 44% of Rwanda. Foster + Partners also suggests that subsequent phases of the project could see up to 40 buildings across Rwanda, serving not only the whole country but also neighboring countries including the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Set within the Kew Green Conservation Area of southwest London, the four bedroom family house is formed of two sculptural weathering steel volumes inserted behind a retained nineteenth century stable wall.

The house is formed of a simple plan to make the most of the constrained site, reduce the building’s mass in the streetscape and respond to the living patterns of the family. Consisting of two rectangles; one slightly smaller, set back and sunken 1m lower, the wings each have living spaces on the ground floor and bedrooms above. Connecting the wings is a glass encased circulation link which allows light to pour into the house whilst providing breathing space between internal spaces. 

Kew House was an experimental build, driven by the architect’s and client’s shared interest in a ‘kit-of-parts’ approach and the self-build possibilities emerging from digital fabrication.

multiPlan arhitekti designed a home in Ljubljana, Slovenia, that takes advantage of its location on a hillside to enable views of the surrounding countryside.

In the context of today’s requirements and preferences, sustainability and continual development guide the design, the living concept is focused on the lifestyle of a modern man, who lives in the heart of nature, in immediate vicinity of the city.

Located about 90 minutes north of Montreal, Spahaus was built by YH2 on the banks of Lac Supérieur (Lake Superior) on a mountain that once housed a religious congregation. In its place, an innovative new approach is being built to help integrate modern architecture into a natural environment. Developers hired YH2 to design the new series of residences to be situated on the northern side of the Mont-Tremblant ski resort in hopes of attracting a new generation of design loving homeowners. Instead of traditional log-style cabins or cottages, they’ve taken a different approach with the first design, name Spahaus, which marries wood and concrete, and boasts amazing panoramic views of its lush location.

Despite its distinctly geometric form, the Dune House could almost be mistaken for one of the sandy formations that surround it. The home, which is situated on the small island of Terschelling in the northern Netherlands, is clad in a silvery natural wood that easily blends with the sand and windswept grass. The neutral palette chosen by Dutch architect Marc Koehler gives the impression that the home appeared from the earth and was carved by the wind, sea and sun.

A green-energy pod that gives you total independance, anywhere you go.

Next week, at Vienna’s Pioneers Festival, attendees will be the first to lay their eyes on the new, stylish “smart home” that allows you to live completely off the grid. It’s called the “Ecocapsule,” and it’s a wind and solar-powered 14 x 7 x 7-foot pod that gives you total independence. The Ecocapsule hitches to the back of your car and, if it’s electric, will keep it charged with its 9700 Watt-hour battery...