Cal Craven’s CAT Aquatic Car Is the Water Taxi of the Future

We already have water taxis and gondolas available for rent in various parts of the world today, but designer Cal Craven envisions a future in which these CAT aquatic water taxis will make gondolas truly seem a quaint throwback. The CAT car is a personal water taxi that people will be able to rent to take out on waterways and pilot themselves.

The CAT, or City Aquatic Transportation, is designed to carry 4 passengers and features panoramic views through its bubble glass top. No word on the propulsion system behind this cute concept, trough we would expect it to be an electric hybrid if made a few years down the road. We think the Boston Duck Tour buuses just met their match.

Via DVICE

By Laura K. Cowan

Cedar Fair names next president

Matthew A Ouimet has been named as the next president and CEO of Cedar Fair Entertainment  Company. Ouimet, 53, will succeed 70-year-old Dick Kinzel as chief executive officer of the North American park chain when he retires on January 3, 2012.

Ouimet is a 20-year veteran of the amusement park and hospitality industry, spending 17 of the years with the Walt Disney Company. During his tenure with the global entertainment giant, he served as senior vice-president, finance and business development, and chief financial officer of the Disney Development Company, executive general manager of Disney Vacation Club, president of Disney Cruise Line, and president of the Disneyland Resort in California.

In 2006, Ouimet was recruited to serve as the president of Starwood Hotel & Resorts, overseeing 900 owned, managed and franchised hotel properties in 95 countries, including the Sheraton, Westin, W Hotels and St Regis brands. In 2008, he joined Corinthian Colleges.

“Without question, Matt is the right leader to join Cedar Fair now as it builds momentum on its renewed path of sustained, profitable growth in 2011 and beyond,” says C Thomas Harvie, the group’s chairman. “Throughout his career, Matt has proven to be a critical thinker and effective business strategist with an enviable track record for identifying growth opportunities within existing business in the amusement park and resort  industry. His broad and diverse background in resort development, finance, marketing and operations will allow him to integrate quickly into cedar Fair.”

Via ParkWorld online

The Aldgate Landmark Pavilion – 2012 Olympics / EASTON + COMBS

The Aldgate Landmark Pavilion designed by Easton + Combs is a temporary entrance market to the City of London in Celebration of the 2012 Olympics. The site’s importance is that it is the location of the former city gate, the Aldgate, a historically significant point of entry to the city of London that was famous for being open to all social classes when the other city gates were reserved for various elites.

As the architects state, the Pavilion serves as a symbolic greeting hall, a light filled, multicolored, transparent surface that creates a momentary envelope for the celebration of the 2012 Olympics and a spatial marker of London’s archeology of social exchange. The Aldgate 2012 Pavilion addresses the city as a multilayered set of possibilities that constitute an urban theatre. As an architectural celebration of the 2012 Olympics, the structure is vibrant and porous yet asserts a sense of place and provides for a variety of possible events. Reading, music and gatherings are accommodated in the large room with a unique cylindrical inverted crown that suggests a space of performance and social exchange.

The design is based on extensive research into lightweight, inexpensive building strategies, as well as the history of temporary architecture. A fascination with chapel typologies implemented  in the context of densely built urban fabric is articulated through referencing the pavilion structure to the intimate nature of domed chapels.

Via eVolo 

Strasbourg Cathedral / Axis Mundi

Invited to submit a proposal for a new cathedral for the city of Strasbourg in France, the design team of Axis Mundi engaged in a dialogue with the city’s Gothic heritage. The 2,322 sq.m. building is composed of a series of unfolded arches echoing vaults of the Gothic cathedrals. The proposal features both  subtle and dramatic design characteristics that together create a new and contemporary place of worship.

References to canonical layouts and iconography of classical architecture are made through the ideographic interpretation of the arches. The concrete elements are designed to create volumes of light for the interior. A bas-relief of a digitalized abstraction of a Gothic cathedral is part of the east façade and it becomes visible as the morning sun casts shadows on the exterior walls. The continuously repeated arches rest on a submerged “Latin Cross” floor plan. A low grade ramps serves to lead the visitors into the cathedral. The floor plan is an abstraction of a Gothic Cathedral, and is composed of  a Latin cross (or cruciform) plan, with a long nave making the body of the church, a transferse arm called the transept and, beyond it, the choir, chancel or presbytery.

Via eVolo

By Lidija Grozdanic

Aquamarine Power Breaks Ground on Oyster Wave Energy Farm in Orkney

Aquamarine Power recently announced the first step towards the installation of its second Oyster wave energy generator with the arrival of the “Excalibur” jack-up barge begin to drill piles into the seabed in order to create foundations for the next-generation wave energy device. The new Oyster is the first of then potential units that are planned fri the area, and each Oyster will be capable of producing 300-600 KW of electricity. Once completed, the farm will be able to provide enough energy for 3000 homes.

The Oysters will capture energy from waves and convert it into clean, sustainable electricity – in essence, it is a wave  -powered pump that pushes high-pressure water to drive a conventional onshore hydro-electric turbine. The innovative device use an on-shore base that is much easier to maintain than standard offshore wave power designs. The system is also capable of operating at shallow depths, making it more consistent than systems that operate far out sea.

The Oyster is scheduled to be installed off the Orkney Islands at the end of July, when it is transported from Methil to EMEC by barge. Once the Oyster is on the site, it will be fixed to the seabed around 500 m. from shore.  This will be followed by a commissioning process which will see the device connected to an onshore hydro-electric generator via sub-sea pipelines.

Speaking about the project, Martin McAdam, Chief Executive Officer of Aquamarine Power said: “The installation of our second full-scale Oyster will be another major milestone fro Aquamarine Power. Our team will be working very hard over the next few months to complete the project for sea trials to begin in the autumn. We have been made to feel very welcome in Orkney since we installed our first Oyster at Billia Croo in 2009. We have worked with more than 30 local economy since we began working in Orkney.

We believe wave energy offers a very positive future to Orkney and we look forward to continuing to build on those relationships with our second Oyster project.

Via Inhabitat + Aquamarine Power

By Timon Singh

Rainbow MagicLand opens in Rome, Italy

Europe’s newest theme park was officially unveiled during a grand opening ceremony just outside Rome on May 25.

Built at a cost of 300 million Euro ($400m), Rainbow MagicLand covers a 60-hectare site in hilly surroundings at Valmontone, about 30 km south east of the Italian capital. Inhabited by pixies, ogres, dragons and other fantasy creatures, the new park incorporates several licensed properties from Rainbow SPA including Huntik and the Winx Club, plus extensive Theming, with imposing buildings and structures at every turn.

The park is the second and largest of two properties developed by Alfa Park, taking as its template Miragica in Molfetta, which opened in 2009. Both parks are located next to a Fashion District shoping outlet, built by same developer, with over 5 million people already visiting the Valmontone site on an annual guests to Rainbow MagicLand, which guests can enjoy for a special opening price of 35 Euro (or 28 Euro for those under 1,4-metres in hight).

Spread across the park are a total of 35 themed attractions, pitched mainly at families and children, including a 50,000 square m. undercover area. The park also features three theatres, an ice rink, planetarium, 28 food & beverage facilities and 5,500 parking spaces. Around 2,000 staff are employed at the new venture.

Via Park World online

Solar Energy powers 1 Million Homes in Bangladesh

Although roof-mounted photovoltaic panels may not be a common sight yet in the West, the technology is really heating up in Asia – specifically in Bangladesh. According to local offocials, the number of solar-powered households in the Asian nation now amounts to over one million. Under – investment in the country’s infrastructure means that the country’s power plants only generate around 4,700 megawatts of electricity a day against a demand of 6,000 megawatts, so some 60 percent of Bangladesh’s 150 millions people have no access to mains electricity. As a result, the power-hungry, fair-weathered country has exhibited the fastest expansion of solar technology in the world.

Bangladesh’s embrace of solar power has shown quite a meteoric rice – especially considering that in 2002, only 7,000 homes in Bangladesh used solar energy. Today, according to Nazmul Hag of the Infrastructure Development Company (IDCOL), it now benefits five million people. “It’s the fastest expansion of solar energy anywhere in the world,” Hag told PhysOrg. “We crossed the one million threshold more than 18 months ahead of schedule (and) we have set a new target to cross 2,5 million by 2014,” he said.

IDCOL is responsible for financing clean energy projects, and they saw the benefits of solar power as many households in Bangladesh are not on the national grid. With the help of NGOs, households could finance the purchase of photovoltaic panels in small monthly payments. If only solar panels were as affordable in the West.

+IDCOL

Via PhysOrg

By Timon Singh

Giant Mangrove Patch Office Tower Rotates to Provide Splendid Views of Java Sea

The rotating Agung Sedayu Center both mimics and straddles Northern Jacarta’s sensitive mangrove ecosystem without leaving an undue footprint. Designed by Agung Mahaputra, Andika priya Utama, Arief Aditya Putra, Dely Hamzah, Nidia Safiana, and Rahadi Utomo, the Mangrove Tower provides rotating views of the surrounding coastal expanse. On a more practical and ecologically-sensible note, the building’s rotation follows the sun as it makes its way across the morning sky. For these and other sustainable features, we give the asymmetrical, mixed-use Mangrove Tower top marks.

The buildings are propped up with a skeletal structure that shades the interior. Then, the corridors that line each floor act as a buffer zone between the offices and the sun, keeping the former nice and cool while at the same time ushering in a ton of light. These systems also ensure that the building need not rely on energy-hungry lighting or cooling systems.

An office building that also incorporates entertainment and retail facilities, the Agung Sedayu center is designed to provide a space for coastal visitors to view the mangrove forest. But it’s only for pedestrians and cyclists. No cars allowed! This will ensure the area’s long term viability. It’s a beautiful design that strikes a necessary balance between fostering both development and biodiversity.

+Agung Sedayu Center

Via Arch Daily

By Tafline Laylin

EDP Foundation Cultural Centre in Lisbon. Amanda Levete Architects

The EDP Foundation Cultural Centre in Lisbon is a project about water, light, reflections and people – a building that captures the essence of the unique riverside site and the extraordinary southern light of Lisbon.

The site is of strategic importance. Acting as the gateway to the culturally rich area of Ajuda/ Belem, the building will be a magnet, drawing people from the heart of the city to the panoramic views along the Tagus estuary. The currently neglected riverfront area will be activated, and the cultural centre will become one of Lisbon’s leading destinations.

+Amanda Levete Architects

Via eVolo

Prince Charles’s Eco-Village Knockoon Will Feature Car Chargers In Every Home

His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales is planning an eco-village in East Avrshire, Scotland , called Knockroom, and electric car charging infrastructure will be a key element. The plan, involving 700 homes to be built over 15 years, hopes to demonstrate that electric and hybrid vehicles can be a viable solution for rural communities by pre-installing EV chargers in every home. Also on offer is diesel or hybrid car sharing program residents will automatically be enrolled in upon moving to Knockroon.

Knockroon is 40 miles from Glasgow and 90 miles from Edinburgh, which means a resident could make it to either city on single charge of a Nissan LEAF. But just to allay range anxieties, Prince Charles is planning to install a car charging station halfway between the Knockroon and Edinburgh.

What we love is how quaint and traditional this future-tech village manages to look in the architectural plans. Check out our gallery to see more of the lovely Scottish village.

By Laura K. Cowan

+Knockroon

Via Inhabitat

Treasure discovered at Djurs

Treasure Island is the name of a new water coaster from Mack Rides at Djurs Sommerland in Nimtofte, Denmark.

The ride, which is only the fifth of its kind in the world, feaures a 28-metre-high drop and reaches speed of up to 70 km/h as rides race around the track in giant boats before splashing down in the pool bellow. In keeping with the theme, the lake is filled with sea monsters, pirates, and hidden treasures.

Treasure Island is a world-class pirate ride for the whole family. Djurs Sommerland’s 2011 season runs from May 7 to October 23.

Via World Park – online

Grafting Buildings onto Trees

Quito, Ecuador. January 14^th 2121 – More than a century after the initial dream of MIT architect Mitchell Joachim and his team at Media Lab’s Smart Cities group; the EIT (Ecuador Institute of Technology) discovered the secret for a perfect balance between nature and the built environment.

Three decades of experiments in the Ecuadorian Cloud Forest and 420 billion in governmental funds were spent to arrive to this sensational discovery.

 Biodynamic structures can now be grafted onto genetically engineered trees to create the NBH (Nature-Building-Hybrid) Species. After the final breakthrough in the understanding of photosynthesis inner dynamics, buildings are now able to use the energy stored in trees and output refined waste products that are by the tree to sustain its growth.

New composite materials developed by the Oxman Foundation perfectly integrate with the trees living cells and gradually fade into bio strengthened alloys to form the basic structural substrate for the grafted building units.

Via eVolo

By CarloMaria Ciampoli

Michelin Design Challenge Concept Car Cleans Polluted Air - VIERIA

Imagine a car that only transforms its shape to navigate different kinds of traffic but also filters and purifies polluted city air. That’s the concept that two students at Kyung-won University in South Korea, Gunwoong Kim&Suji Kim, have come up with. They call it the VIERIA. The VIERIA’s wheels are mounted on scissor-shaped legs that can be moved to various configurations that work best in the city or on the highway, and its air intake draws polluted city air into the vehicle, where it is purified before being pushed out the tailpipe.

The VIERIA, which was recently unveiled at the Michelin Challenge Design Competition , has already won several awards, including the Incheon International Design Award in 2009 and the Seoul Cycle Design Competition in 2010, and this despite the fact that the car’s rather roughly translated press materials promise “drining cofortant”(Driving comfort).What do you think of this design? Pie in the sky or car of the future?

Via Michelin Challenge Design

By Laura K. Cowan

Sinbad Land

After supplying complete amusement parks in Italy, North America and Guatemala, Zamperla has landed a contract to create a new park in Iraq.

As part of a huge new entertainment and commercial project being developed by a local operator in the capitol city of Baghdad, the Italian company will design the park called Sinbad Land, where it will also supply all the rides. The park will cover 60,000 square-meters of the development’s total 400,000 sq. m. site, which will also include a waterpark, lake, marina club, shops, restaurants and a 4-star hotel.

The park will comprise two parts including a family-focused area and a separate teenage zone. Riders earmarked for the project include tried and tested Zamperla favorites such as a Rockin’Tug,  Convoy, Family Swinger, Disk’O’ Coaster and Twister Coaster, plus novelties including a Vertical Swing, Air Race, Jump Around and Happy Swing.

Sindbad Land is scheduled to open this coming September.


via Park World

Samsung to Invest $7 Billion in South Korean Eco-Town

Electronics company Samsung has made a $7.04 billion commitment to the government to construct a massive eco-friendly  production facility in South Korea. The reclaimed production wetland area of Saemangeum has been awarded to Samsung by the South Korean Government for the development of the facility. The green town will boast a wind-power generator, solar battery house, research headquarters and 20,000 employee homes.

Last year, Samsung announced that it would invest 23 trillion Korean Won (just over $21 million USD) over the course of the next 10 years toward social programs like healthcare as well as green energy. The new eco-production facility is just a fraction of the plan.

The government supported 125 mile wetland area should be transformed into the proposed green town by 2021.

By Lori Zimmer

Via Inhabitat 

Bras That Pinch: Lingerie Eco Art Made from Recycled Lobster Shells

West Coast artist Laura Ann Jacobs is known for her ornate sculptural pieces that use recycled materials to create tongue-in-cheek commentary on how the concepts of fashion and “beauty” shape our bodies and minds. One of her latest pieces, seen here, is made of an old lobster shell, which has been reshaped to look like a bra. The artist’s one-of-a-kind creations incorporate elements from women’s garments and accessories, which she finds to be restrictive and sometimes preposterous.

By Naomi Burton + Laura Ann Jacobs

Microsoft Jumps On Board Portugal’s Mega “Smart City” Plan

Former Microsoft executive and CEO of Living Plan IT Steve Lewis has brought Microsoft on-board to help with Portugal’s “smart city” in Paredes, according to the gurus at engadget. By incorporating networking technology directly into the city’s buildings and infrastructure, the “smart city” will significantly improve urban energy efficiency and overall sustainability. Several high-tech companies have already joined the fray, including Cisco, for the project that will eventually house ¼ million people and cost a whopping $14.1 billion.

Microsoft will provide the necessary cloud framework to coordinate the city’s integrated sensors with its Azure platform. These will allow real-time monitoring of everything from water and energy use to traffic management, improving the quality of life for residents while reducing the use of natural resources.

In addition to providing thousands of jobs a country that is struggling financially, the increased efficiency will offset the initial investment the development, which Portugal called a project of “National Importance”, according to a Finacial Times report. Let’s hope it doesn’t crash!

By Tafline Laylin

Via Engadget+Inhabitat

SplinterBike: Bicycle Made Entirely From Wood Can Hit 30 MPH

Behold, the SplinterBike – a bicycle made completely from wood that is capable of hitting a top speed of 31 mph!!! The cycle uses exclusively wooden components – from axles formed from hardwood ekki to cogs, wheels and a frame built from birch ply to “metal bearings” made of oily ironwood. The pedals and handlebars were constructed from an old broom handle. The design team believe that the bike has the potential to set the speed record for wooden bikes, but alas, none of them have actually ridden the bike, as there is no surface smooth enough to ride it.

By Diane Pham + SplinterBike

Via Gizmodo

Wadi Rum Resort: Luxury Eco Lodge Built Right Into The Desert Cliffs

We Couldn’t believe our eyes when realized that this amazing eco luxury resort is actually carved right into the desert cliffs of the Wadi Rum in Jordan. Florida-based firm, Oppenheim Architecture, recently won a desert competition with these plans for a new desert lodge. The new luxury eco lodge will help sustainably develop the area, which is already known for its eco-tourism, climbing and trekking.

The Wadi Rum Desert Lodge is designed to take advantage of the natural landscape in order to fully appreciate the surrounding desert. As such, residences, rooms and hotel amenities are built into the cliffs, and inserted into the natural faults and fissures of the land. The simple forms and architecture are designed to enhance the landscape and provide a direct connection between man and nature. Many of the accented only by simple materials blurring the boundaries between what is natural and man made.

Included in the project will be a rock lodge, spa lodge, tent lodge and reserve villa offering a variety of accommodations and ways to experience the  surrounding Wadi. Oppenheim’s proposal seeks  to establish a new benchmark for design, quality and sustainability in the natural environment. Appropriate desert architecture, including shading, natural ventilation and thermal mass will all play a large role in keeping the microclimate comfortable for guests while providing a natural experience in the desert.

Via Designboom

+Oppenheim Architecture

by Bridgette Meinhold

Primorskiy’s new zoological Park, Saint-Petersburg, Russia

Bruno Tanant et Jean Christophe Nani – Landscape designers TN PLUS, Aldric Beckmann et Francoise N’Thepe – Architects Beckmann N’Thepe, win international competition for the completion of the Primorsky’s new zoo, Saint-Petersburg (Russia).

Founded in 1865 Saint-Petersburg zoo is the oldest zoo of Russia. As most of other parks across Russia, it suffers today from a cruel lack of space, being located in the heart of the historical town center. The city has hence decided to create a new zoo, which will range over 300 hectares, on the town’s outskirts,  escaping this way the high population density of the urban area. The project preserves a large strech of land, and implements an environmentally beneficial approach.

The project offers a symbolic sample of every continent in an attempt to recreate the illusion of a reunited Pangea within the very zoological park of Saint-Petersburg. The archipelago therefore created will be made of islands representing South East Asia, Africa, Australia, South America< North America and Eurasia, the two latter being linked with each other by the pack ice of the Arctic Pole. The chosen site enjoys a profuse water supply, and hence is particularly fitted for such an insular organization of the various environments.

Nowadays the environment requirements and the green consciousness of the public are increasingly considered a core issue. The very background of a zoological park itself induces a mandatory respect of those values. Harshly criticized for a long time, zoological parks are today considered major stakeholders it is an artificially recreated leisure area, the Primorskiy Park is above all an educational tool allowing each and everyone of us to better grasp our own history, and also a research center helping to preserve our Earth. So much goals were aimed both by architects and landscape designers of this project who managed to convince and share their ambitions.

via eVolo

Gran exito de la tarifa especial joven en Isla Ma’gica

Isla Magica ha incorporado este ano como novedad una nueva tarifa dirigida a los mas jovenes. La Tarifa Joven ofrece a los visitants con edades comprendidas entre 13 y 25 anos la posibilidad de desfrutar de un 20% de descuento en las entrada de adulto de dia complete. De esta forma, los mas jovens podran acceder al Parque por 20 euros en Temporada Baja y 23 euros en Temporada Alta. Unos precios que antes solo estaban disponibles para este colectivo si visitaban Isla Magica en grupo o con la tarjeta joven Euro 26 (Instituto Andaluz de la Juventud y otras entidades similares).


via parquestematicos.org

U.S. Army Launches Plan to Make All Military Bases Net Zero

Over The past couple of years, the U.S. Army has announced several initiatives ranging from solar-powered tents for troops to hydrogen-powered tanks, however this is their most ambitious program yet. With the help of the U.S. Department of Energy’s national Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the U.S. Army is aiming to have all Army installations across the country be net zero. With funds from the DOE’s Federal Energy management Program (FEMP), the “Army Vision for Net Zero” program will aim to meet mandates to reduce energy as a result of Executive Order 13514. The order calls for all new buildings to be net zero energy by 2030, and it dictates a 30 percent reduction in water use and a 50 percent reduction in waste that goes to landfills. On top of that, the National Defense Authorization Act also mandates that the Army produce or acquire 25 percent of its energy from renewables by 2025.

By Timon Singh

+ U.S. Army

via inhabitat

La Trobe University Institute of Molecular Science

La Trobe University’s $94 million Institute of Molecular Science (LIMS) began construction on Friday with an official sod turning presided by the Minister for Innovation, Industry , Science and Research, Senator Kim Carr. LIMS will be a world-class facility for molecular science, biotechnology and nanotechnology research and research training. The Institute will align with the broader Northern Melbourne Science precinct and support growth in the burgeoning Australian biotechnology industry.

The Australian Government has invested $85,8 million in the project through the Education Investment Fund.

Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Architect: Lyons

Façade, Structural& Civil Engineers: Meinhardt

Via Meinhardt 

World’s First Biodegradable Car: Kenneth Cobonpue’s Phoenix Roadster

You are looking at the world’s first bamboo and rattan roadster, a biodegradable car called the Phoenix. The Phoenix was created by product designer Kenneth Cobonpue and Albrecht Birkner and was built in just 10 days of bamboo, rattan, steel and nylon. At 153 inches long, it is a small and elegant solution to a big and ugly problem: the waste created by old cars that outlive their purpose. “This project attempts to unveil the future of green vehicles using woven skins from organic fibers mated to composite materials and powered by green technology”, says Mr. Coponpue. So how does it work?

The Phoenix’s biodegradable skin is designed to last the average length of time a person keeps a car (5 years in industrialized countries, 10-20 years elsewhere) so that the car doesn’t create unnecessary waste by lasting longer than its owner needs it. The skin can be replaced inexpensively if the owner wishes to keep their car longer, and the Phoenix’s frame can be easily customized for individual customers’ needs. No word yet on exactly what engine or motor will power the green car, but it is small enough that an all-electric setup should provide plenty of juice to move this work of art around town.

By Laura K. Cowan

Via Inhabitat + Kenneth Cobonpue

Gorgeous Energy-Absorbing Trap Light Never Needs to be Plugged In

Today Gionata Gatto and Mike Thompson unveiled a gorgeous new pendant lamp at the Milan Furniture Fair that is completely powered by light energy absorbed from ambient sources. Dubbed the “Trap Light”, the cord-and battery-free lamp utilizes special photoluminescent pigments to scavenge “waste energy” from surrounding light sources such as CFL and LED bulbs. At night, the lamp springs to life with a soft, ambient glow.

The body of each lamp has been fromed using the Murano glass blowing technique. The close, hands-on approach allows the designers to embed photoluminescent pigments directly into the glass body of the lamp with ease.

If you’re in Milan this week, be sure to swing by the Spazio Rossana Orlandi to get a first-hand look at this stunning design.

By Diane Pham via Inhabitat

World’s tallest tower planned for Jeddah

5,280ft high tower to act as anchor for 8,9 sq. mile development in Saudi Arabia

The revered Burj Khalifa by Skidmore Owings and Merrill is soon to be overshadowed as news comes that plans submitted by Kingdom Holding Company for a 5,280ft high tower in Jeddah have been approved. Newswire Windsor Genova has reported that the “Kingdom Tower” project was given the green light last month, and named Adrian Smith af Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill as the architect for the scheme.

In a unconventional move, Kingdom Holding Company has planned to design and construct the record-breaking tower before encircling it in a commercial and residential development, creating a “city within a city” on the outskirts of Jeddah. Omrania&Associates with HOK have been selected to draw up the Masterplan, comprising  residential units, retail space, office blocks, a beach resort, hotels and an educational institution.

In terms of scale, it is estimated that a lift journey to the uppermost level of this 275-floor structure will take 12 minutes, with the Burj Khalifa’s 828m shrinking in the wake of the Kingdom Tower’s 1,609m height. Similarly, the highly celebrated Kingkey Tower in Shenzhen is only destined to reach 441m, while Guangzhou’s Canton Tower stands at 610m high. Should this lofty new building been seen through to realization, it will overshadow every other “tall” tower in the world and push the boundaries of architectural design in a way many never thought possible.
Via worldarchitecturenews

Lo que te espera en el Parque de Atrcciones de Madrid.

En una entrevista realizada por ElDistrito TV, Diego Gracia, Nuevo director del Parque de Atracciones de Madrid, nos cuenta las novedades que nos esperam a partir de ahora en el Parque de Atracciones de Madrid. Y no son pocas.

Para emprezar, disfrutaremos de Helloween durante todo el mes de octubre y no durante semana, como se habia hecho hasta ahora. Se sigue asi con la intencion de  equipararse a los grandes parques de Europa.

Y es que, segun ha explicado Diego, sorprender a los jovens de hov en dia cada vez es mas dificil. Son muy exigentes!

Ademas, el Parque de Atracciones realizara un gran esfuerzo en renovar los espectaculos. Al Viejo Caseron se le suma en Semana Santa Ciudad Arcoiris y, ademas, un musical tipo Grease!!!

Para lo mas pequenos, ademas estan preparando algo muy importante que todavia no podemos adelantar, pero sera de escandalo. Ademas, se recuperaran las noches de Verano.

Via parquestematicos

Google Invest $ 168 Million towards the World’s largest solar power tower plant

Yesterday Google announced that they will be investing 168 million dollar into BrightSource Energy, making this their largest investment in renewable energy thus far. BrightSource is a farm in the Mojave desert that employs an Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System to produce clean, solar energy by utilizing fields of heliostats to concentrate the sun’s rays. The concentrated rays are directed towards the top of a tower where a receiver converts the rays into steam that powers a traditional turbine and generator to make electricity. The Ivanplah Power Tower will reach approx 450 feet tall and will use 173,000 heliostats, each with two mirrors, and by the time the plant is up and running in 2013 it will be producing 392 MW of solar energy. Following last week’s announcement of Google’s 5 million dollar investment towards a solar photovoltaic farm in Brandenburg an der Havel Germany, plus several other smaller initiatives, the internet giant is taking huge strides towards having a significant impact on the future of renewable energy.

By Rebecca Paul

Via gigaom

El Museo de las Ciencias expone el primer microscopio electro’nico que llego’ a España

El Museo de las Ciencias Principe Felipe ha el contenido de la muestra “Ventana Valencia” ubicada en la Calle Menzor, zona de libre acceso, con la exposicion de dos microscopios que forman parte de la coleccion de Museo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia(MUNCYT). Una de las piezas expuestas es el primer microscopio electronico que llego a España en 1947.

Xin-yu Wan unveiled a proposal to replace St. Stephen Cathedral in Vienna

The project was designed during the Excessive Workshop of Hernan Diaz-Alonso in The Institute of Architecture of Vienna the overall history of Vienna. That is to say: if Art Nouveau had a greater influence and had lasted for a longer period in Vienna, butalso serves as real structure to hold the main parts of the building, what would a new cathedral be and what its sublime and magical effects.
Via sucker PUNCH
 

Colossal Green Volcano Building Rises in ITALY

A jaw-dropping feat of volcanic architecture has risen in the Italian city of Nola, just a stone’s throw away the cataclysmic Mt. Vesuvius. Designed by Renzo Piano, the Vulcano Buono (“good volcano” in Italian) is an epic cone-shaped commercial center crowned with a sloping green roof. Piano’s “good volcano” contributes a vital new space to the southern edge of the Nola commercial district, which is most important freight terminal complex in southern and central Italy.

Renzo Piano Building Workshop

G.E. Plans to Build Largest Solar Panel Plant in U.S.

SAN FRANCISCO — In a move that could shake up the American solar industry, General Electric plans to announce on Thursday that it will build the nation’s largest photovoltaic panel factory, with the goal of becoming a major player in the market.

The plant, whose location has not been determined, will employ 400 workers and create 600 related jobs, according to G.E. The factory would annually produce solar panels that would generate 400 megawatts of energy, the company said, and would begin manufacturing thin-film photovoltaic panels made of a material called cadmium telluride in 2013. While less efficient than conventional solar panels, thin-film photovoltaics can be produced at a lower cost and have proven attractive to developers and utilities building large-scale power plants.

Exuberant Cathedral for Vienna / Excessive Workshop

Xin-yu Wan unveiled a proposal  to replace St. Stephen Cathedral in Vienna. The project was designed during the Excessive Workshop of Hernan Diaz-Alonso in The Institute of Architecture of Vienna  the overall concept is based on a fantasy about the architectural history of Vienna. That is to say: if Art Nouveau had had a greater influence and had lasted for a longer period in Vienna; if the articulated geometries not only work as ornaments or enclosure as is the case for the Secession, but also serves as real structure to hold the main parts of the building, what would a new cathedral be and what its sublime and magical effects.

This project is based on two kinds of elements and their respective mutations. The white elements, which combine to form both the soft curvilinear and the hard straight body. They are the main structure and first layer of the enclosure. The black elements are more of an organic nature and work as the second layer of enclosure on the outside and as floors inside. The contrast and transition between these elements give the project its unique character.

Via eVolo

El zoo de Moscú regala dos elefantes a Bioparc Valencia

Las autoridades moscovitas han decidido regalar a la instalación del zoo Bioparac de Valencia dos hembras de elefante africano por la dificultad de poder ofrecer a estos paquidermos las necesarias condiciones en el zoológico de la capital rusa. Ambos paquidermos fueron adquiridos en el Parque Nacional Kruger de Sudáfrica en el año 1985 por el zoo de Moscú, las dos hembras habitaban en un recinto con un espacio muy limitado y no apto, y dada la imposibilidad de poder construir un nuevo recinto los especialistas del zoo decidieron regalar los dos animales al Bioparc de Valencia.

Las autoridades locales consideran que este paso permitirá fortalecer las relaciones de cooperación entre Moscú y Valencia, además, en la situación actual el regreso de los elefantes al parque moscovita es imposible, ya que la construcción de un nuevo recinto para los paquidermos ha sido suspendida por falta de medios económicos.


Via parquestematicos