San Shan Double-Helix Bridge
Set to be built as part of the 2022 Winter Olympics infrastructure in Beijing, the San Shan Bridge (3 Mountains Bridge) draws its shape from that of the five rings in the Olympic Symbol, while echoing the shape of the region’s mountains when viewed from either side. The deck is suspended from the double-helix structure with high-strength steel cables, and the bridge’s slender overall design enables it to use 5 times less steel than a conventional box girder bridge.
Magic Breeze Landscape
The mysterious labyrinthine nature of traditional Indian step wells and water mazes comes to Hyderabad, India as the ‘Magic Breeze Landscape’ development by Pooja Crafted Homes, a communal garden for residents of an accompanying tower. Walkways through the park vary for different purposes: straight lines for runners and fast walkers, a narrower walking path for residents headed straight to the apartments, and a leisurely winding path.
Pooja Crafted Homes Sky Villas
The architects aim to bring gardens high up into the sky with the second stage of the Magic Breeze project for Pooja Crafted Homes, consisting of 127 duplex sky villas ranging from 2,600 to 4,000 square feet. Each one has its own double-height private terrace. The idea is to maintain high-density urban housing while providing the feel of a private detached residence with its own yard. The gardens also provide passive cooling and natural ventilation to the building in the hot Hyderabad climate.
Transformable New Bauhaus Museum
Looking at the gif of Penda’s proposal for the New Bauhaus Museum competition makes us wonder, why isn’t more architecture kinetic? It’s a mesmerizing effect, the two rotating platforms opening to connect the museum to the sculpture park during the day or closing at night. It wasn’t selected for the final design, but it’s an intriguing idea. “Our aim was to create a museum that connects and interacts with those multiple settings of daily life in Dessau in a very direct and responsive way,” say the architects. “Due to the ability to transform itself, the museum can react to various needs within the City Park and offers the possibility to become a connecting hub, which shapes the community around it and links its visitors to the vision of the Bauhaus era.”
