Tree House Brings Nature, Music to Life in Portland

Architect Robert Harvey Oshatz has created this awesome, artistic piece of architecture in the woods of Portland, Oregon, for a client who’s love of music would be translated into a modern home. This impressive design was seven years in the making, from the drawing board to its completion in 2004, and it was worth every last second of the wait. The main living level of this contemporary tree house sits in the canopy, among lush green leaves with the dewy earth rolling out below. It’s one of those designs that’s difficult to describe.

Image(copyright oshatz),click 2 enlarge

Image(copyright oshatz),click 2 enlarge
According to the architect, “Located on a flag lot, a steep sloping grade provided the opportunity to bring the main level of the house into the tree canopy to evoke the feeling of being in a tree house. A lover of music, the client wanted a house that not only became part of the natural landscape but also addressed the flow of music. This house evades the mechanics of the camera; it is difficult to capture the way the interior space flows seamlessly through to the exterior. One must actually stroll through the house to grasp its complexities and its connection to the exterior. One example is a natural wood ceiling, floating on curved laminated wood beams, passing through a generous glass wall which wraps around the main living room.” Architect Robert Harvey Oshatz.

Image(copyright oshatz),click 2 enlarge
Image(copyright oshatz),click 2 enlarge
Image(copyright oshatz),click 2 enlarge
Image(copyright oshatz),click 2 enlarge
Image(copyright oshatz),click 2 enlarge
Image(copyright oshatz),click 2 enlarge
Image(copyright oshatz),click 2 enlarge
Image(copyright oshatz),click 2 enlarge
Image(copyright oshatz),click 2 enlarge

Oil Rig Platform as Luxury Eco Resort - Winner of 2008 innovation award

Morris Architects,The grand prize winner, the Oil Rig Platform Resort and Spa makes use of one of 4,000 oil rigs out in the Gulf of Mexico and transforms it into a luxurious eco-resort and spa. As the recent winning design of the Radical Innovation in Hospitality Award, the concept which would transform rigs which would otherwise be destroyed into capital-gaining resorts, is awarded fresh prestige, and the architects a $10,000 prize.

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Sponsored by the John Hardy Group and Hospitality Design Magazine, the international design competition focused on innovations in hospitality. The Morris design team wanted to take advantage of the an abandoned oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico and reuse the structure, transforming it into a vibrant and commercially viable destination.

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The luxury resort offers many amenities including interaction with the surrounding ocean - boating, snorkeling, diving and other water sports. The Rig Hotel will also draw in conferences and business meetings, and will serve as a cruise ship’s main port of call en route to other locations in Mexico and the Caribbean.

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Each rig hotel would be able to accommodate over 300 guest rooms and luxury suites, a ballroom, restaurants, retail, pool and poolside bar as well as providing a marina for yachts, a casino, a dive bell for below sea excursions and facilities for water sports.

The Oil Rig Resort and Spa will provide unparalleled views of the Gulf through patron’s rooms as well as a glass lobby floor. The lobby will be naturally lit with ambient light, which will be reflect the ocean. A central core will be filled with water, which acts as a ballast to help stabilize the platform during stormy conditions. This central core will also host theatrical performances much like the Cirque du Soliel show ‘O’ in Las Vegas. Guests will be able to view the show from their own room every night.

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Encouraged as an ecological alternative to the destruction of the rigs which, according to Morris Architects, will all be decommissioned within the next century, the renovation would help to preserve the marine life gathered among the legs of the rigs. They would also function autonomously with alternative forms of energy production including wind, wave and solar.

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Individual guest rooms are prefabricated off site and transported via ship in a standard cargo container to the rig. The rooms are not large and have been optimized to maximize space. Couches turn into beds at night and can be moved over the hot tub for viewing of performances. The room can also extend out over the water for better views of the Gulf.

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The eco-resort provides a state-of-the-art luxury accommodations, as well as sea-water swimming facilities, a grand ballroom shopping, dining, nightly entertainment, a casino, and boat slips. And considering that there are over 4,000 oil platforms out there in the Gulf, it’s certainly a novel way to reuse the existing structures.

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The designers hope that the rigs could be used as ports of call for cruise ships traveling between the Caribbean and Mexico.

Images(copyright Morris Architecture),click 2 enlarge


More Information:
Oil Rig Platform Resort and Spa
Morris Architecture
www.radicalinnovationinhospitality.com

Recommended Books:


Hospitality
By Aric Chen, Michael Adams

Buildings: Innovation + Technology: STUDIOS Architecture
By Images Publishing

Two Tower for LA - Korean Air will build $1 billion project in Los Angeles

Korean Air and Thomas Properties Group Inc. have announced plans to develop a $ 1 billion mixed use complex in downtown Los Angeles that will transform the city’s skyline and be a symbol of civic pride for the city’s Korean community, the second largest outside of Seoul.The downtown Los Angeles’s first office high-rise since 1992, to capture rising demand after the U.S. recession. Korean Air has owned the hotel and the land since 1989.

Images (copyright ac martin),click 2 enlarge

Developed by Thomas Properties Group and designed by Los Angeles based A.C. Martin, the 1.75 million-sq ft project calls for two high rise towers.A 60-story office tower with 1.15 million square feet (107,000 square meters) of space and a 40-story hotel with as many as 700 rooms.“It’s reasonable to assume that the credit market will get fixed and start flowing again,” Thomas Properties Chief Executive Officer James A. Thomas said in an interview. “The ideal timing is to get everything lined up, and as you come out of the recession, you have the product to deliver. So I think our timing is really superb.”

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The Los Angeles metropolitan area had about $7.5 billion in distressed properties as of the end of March, a 168 percent jump from December, according to data from Real Capital Analytics. While the economy is still in turmoil, the development process in Los Angeles is archaic and thus lengthy.
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In making the announcement now, Thomas Properties, which has extensive experience building complex projects in the city, is positioning itself to be first in line when the rebound occurs. Jim Thomas, CEO of the development company, told the LA business journal that with its current 88 percent office occupancy level, downtown will need a Class A office building in the next three to five years. To meet that timeline we need to get started right now, Thomas said.

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Korean Air and Thomas Properties said they expect financing will be available by the time construction begins in 2011.

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More Information: www.acmartin.com

Zira Island Master plan _ Carbon-Neutral Resort & Residential Development by BIG

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Azerbaijan seeks Danish expertise in proposing Central Asia’s first Carbon Neutral Master Plan.Zira Zero Island is a 1.000.000 m2 master plan for a carbon neutral resort and residential development on Zira Island located along the Caspian Sea.In October 2008 WAN caught up with the firm’s founding partner, Bjarke Ingles Group(BIG), following their presentation of residential development Mountain Dwellings at the World Architecture Festival Awards in Barcelona, which subsequently won in its category.

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The carbon-neutral eco-island is based on the seven peaks of Azerbaijan and its mountainous ecosystems. Located in the bay of the capital city Baku, Zira Island is a ferry ride away from a growing metropolis and will stand as an example to a region so dependent on oil, that it is possible to live off the wind and sun. The island will make use of solar heat panels, photovoltaic cells, waste water and rainwater collection, and an offshore wind farm.

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BIG Architects' Zira Island will feature seven major structures modeled after the peaks of Azerbaijan that are connected by trails, greenbelts and the coastline. The Seven Peaks will each house a residential development and public space, and there will also be 300 private villas near a golf course in the central valley. Zira’s new skyline of organic buildings will resemble a mountain range that merges with the natural topography of the island.

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Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner of BIG: “What we propose for Zira Zero Island is an architectural landscape based on the natural landscape of Azerbaijan. This new architecture not only recreates the iconic silhouettes of the seven peaks, but more importantly creates an autonomous ecosystem where the flow of air, water, heat and energy are channeled in almost natural ways. A mountain creates biotopes and eco-niches, it channels water and stores heat, it provides viewpoints and valleys, access and shelter. The Seven Peaks of Azerbaijan are not only metaphors, but actual living models of the mountainous ecosystems of Azerbaijan.”
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Each of the Seven Peaks house a residential development derived from the geometry of a famous mountain in Azerbaijan. Individually each mountain becomes a principle for mixing private and public functions.

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Together the mountains form an organic skyline merging with the natural topography of the island. A dense vibrant urban community connected to a series of private resort villages by a central public valley and surrounding beaches. A continuous public trekking path connects the mountains and invites visitors to scale the top of all seven peaks. In addition to the Seven Peaks the Master Plan also includes 300 private villas that take advantage of their setting with panoramic views out over the Caspian Sea.
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Lars Ostenfeld Riemann, Ramboll’s Group Director, Buildings & Design: “Zira Island will be an important step into the future of urban development in Caucasus and Central Asia. By help of the wind, the sun and the waste the Island will produce the same amount of energy as it consumes. In a society literately built on oil this will serve as a showcase for a new way of thinking sustainable planning.

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Following other ambitious eco-city projects like Dongtan in China and Masdar in Abu Dhabi this project will cause the carbon emissions of people living there to decline over the next decade. From an engineering point of view we are just as thrilled by the challenge of letting the design of the buildings reflect the shape of the mountains of Azerbaijan.”

Images (Copyright BIG),click 2 enlarge
ZERO ISLAND
The vision of Zira Island is to create a new development that is entirely independent of external resources – in other words a self contained island. By combining the best of the traditional Azerbaijani building tradition with the newest technology, Zira Island will provide excellent living spaces for people, with a minimum usage of resources. It will be a showcase to the world combining high-end living with low end resource usage.

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SUN
The buildings of the island are heated and cooled by heat pumps connecting to the surrounding Caspian Sea. Solar heat panels integrated in the architecture create a steady supply of hot water, while photovoltaics on strategically located facades and roof tops power daytime functions as swimming pools and aqua parks.

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WATER
Waste water and storm water is collected and led to a waste water treatment plant, where it is then cleaned, processed and recycled for irrigation. The solid parts of the waste water are processed and composted and finally turned into top soil, fertilizing the island. The constant irrigation and fertilizing of the island supports the lush green condition of a tropical island, with a minimal ecological footprint.

Images (Copyright BIG),click 2 enlarge

WIND
Zira Zero Island benefits from the fact that Baku is “the city of wind”. By harvesting the wind energy through an offshore wind farm, the island will have its own CO2-neutral power supply. Further by locating the wind turbines on sea, it transforms the existing offshore oil industry’s platforms & foundations in Baku into a more sustainable future of wind turbine platforms.

Images (Copyright BIG),click 2 enlarge
The Zira Island Master Plan will be a part of the upcoming public exhibition entitled “Yes is More” at the Danish Architecture Center opening on February 20th at 6:00pm.

Images (Copyright BIG),click 2 enlarge
Images (Copyright BIG),click 2 enlarge

More Information: Bjarke Ingels Group, www.big.dk

Recommended Books:


Sustainability Appraisal: A Sourcebook and Reference Guide to International Experience
By Barry Dalal-Clayton

Thermal Engineering in Power Systems (Developments in Heat Transfer)
By Editor: R. S. Amano