Aqua Building in downtown Chicago

Aqua is an 87-story skyscraper currently under construction at in the Lakeshore East area of downtown Chicago. I had the privilege of meeting and speeking with Jeanne Gang who is the designer of the building and head of the Chicago based architecture firm Studio Gang. The $300 million dollar project is expected to be completed in 2009. Below is a picture of the construction progress as of April 5, 2008.

Construction as of April, 5 2008

"In an increasingly dense city like Chicago, views from a new tower must be negotiated between existing buildings. Aqua tower considers criteria such as views, solar shading and function to derive a vertical system of contours that gives the structure its sculptural form. Its vertical topography is defined by its outdoor terraces that gradually change in plan over the length of the tower. These terraces offer a strong connection to the outdoors and allow inhabitants to occupy the building façade and city simultaneously. The result is a highly sculptural building when viewed obliquely that transforms into a slender rectangle from further away. Its powerful form suggests the limestone outcroppings and geologic forces that shaped the great lakes region." (http://www.studiogang.net/site/projects_e1.htm)

Rendering of the completed building

RevoPower Motorized Bike Wheel

Do you want an easier way to get around campus, the city, rural areas, and hilly areas? Here is an ultra modern design solution for those peddlers. This motorized wheel brought to you by RevoPower packs in an entire two stroke engine and gear train within the front wheel of most bikes. The wheel simply replaces the existing wheel with easy installation. The wheel enables you to cruise at 20mph while achieving a whopping 200mpg!! The user must pedal from a dead stop to start the motor as it will not idle. The wheel weighs less than 15 pounds and meets EPA emissions requirements. For more information please visit RevoPower including installation instructions and much more. I have to get myself one of these!

The RevoPower wheel installed

Whats inside the wheel

The National Aquatic Center in Beijing, China (aka: the water cube)

The National Aquatics Center, also known as the "Water Cube", is located in Beijing China. The Aarchitecture firm PTW won the international design competition for the National Aquatics Centre for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The structure was inspired by the natural formation of soap bubbles which give it a random organic appearance. The Water Cube’s plastic translucent structure is illuminated by Cree LEDs, allowing the entire building to glow with vibrant color-changing LEDs. For additional information on Cree visit http://www.cree.com/xlamp.(Exterior Airel View)

(Olympic Pool Inside)

(Exterior airel rendering with the Birds Nest stadium in the background)

Cantilevered Bookshelf

This bookshelf designed by Lift Architects uses a concrete counterweight to support the weight of the books. The slit in the middle of the steel is for an optional adjustable bookend (not shown) to keep the books from toppling over.

Ideal House by Zaha Hadid

This house was designed for the International Furniture Fair by architect Zaha Hadid in Cologne, Germany in January of 2007: http://www.imm-cologne.com/

This annual event calls for use of a cube as the basic structure. Hadid's approach illustrates her idea of creating spaces that seamlessly flow into one another. She says, ‘what we created is not so much an 'ideal house' as a snapshot of our vision and understanding of how people will live in the future.’