Abdul Basit Khan is a graphic designer, currently working in the Department of Architecure at the University of Singapore. There is a wonderful amount of research-based projects in his portfolio.

This staircase I came across on Apartment Therapy was too good to not share! I feel so inspired to try something like this.

I love how the work of artist Carolin Reichert has the ability to suspend moments in time. These suspended moments carry a certain amount of playfulness, whether relating to themes like space and light, or the seemingly mundane tasks we carry out each day.

Via Beautiful Decay

I was blown away when I saw these images of the Seed Cathedral currently under construction in Shanghai. The building will be the centerpiece of the UK Pavilion for the Shanghai Expo, starting May 1, 2010. 60,000 long clear acrylic rods form the outside of the building; at the end of each of the rods seeds have been embedded, creating a massive seed vault that will move in the wind.

See more images at The Big Picture

Via BLDGBLOG

I can’t honestly remember who led me to this, but I remember them saying something about wishing this was their new summer home. I can’t agree more. The Paraty House, in Paraty, Brazil, was designed by Marcio Kogan Architects.

It’s “two reinforced concrete boxes, sit atop each other, connected on the mountainside of one of the islands of the colonial city of Paraty and Angra dos Reis (between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro), like two modern prisms between the large colossal stones of the Brazilian coast.

The building projects outward from the mountain, almost onto the beach, in an 8m cantilever. The house finds balance in the topography of the land, creating an extensive open doorway and living space in the practically untouched nature. Paraty House features a furniture collection showcasing 20thcentury design, including works by many well-known artists.

The residents arrive by boat. After stepping out onto the sand a metallic bridge positioned over a crystal-lined reflecting pool leads to a set of stairs connecting to the lower volume. This volume contains the living room, kitchen and service area. The continual internal area has a 27m span and huge glass windows to take advantage of the view of the sea.

The same entrance stairs also lead to the upper volume that houses the bedrooms. In the front part of the house, retractile panels of eucalyptus sticks protect the bedrooms from the sun. The areas that face the mountain have small internal patios with zenithal lighting, and use exposed reinforced concrete, which grants a striking texture to the walls.

The entire top of the house is covered with terraces, used as observation decks for the residents, and as a garden for sculptures, medicinal plants and edible herbs.” [Via Contemporist]

“This papercraft castle complete with functioning lights and a train system, was created over 4 years by Wataru Itou, an art student in Tokyo.”

Via PSFK

I realize this is old and it may not even be around anymore, but check out what was designed for the summer pavilion for London’s Architectural Association a number of months ago. The piece, by Danecia Sibingo, is a reminder of the British Aisles inseparable connection to the seas.

Via CR

Came across this great time-lapse footage of the construction of the new Cowboys Stadium in Dallas/Arlington. Watching the Giants/Dallas game tonight I was really intrigued to see how it was built. An amazing feat of engineering!

I really love this quote that Leland Maschmeyer (Director of Strategy at COLLINS) posted on his blog a while ago.

“When I am working on a problem I never think about beauty. I only think about how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.”

—Buckminster Fuller

While I consider myself an admirer of Daniel Libeskind’s work I’m not really sure what to think of these €2-3 million pre-fab structures that were just unveiled.

Via Dezeen

These kind of projects make me wish I had stayed in architecture school.

Via PSFK

New images to the extension of the Tate Modern in London by Herzog & de Meuron.

Via Dezeen

Check out this tour that LoftLife Magazine put up.

Robert Venturi’s 1969 Lieb House is being relocated from Barnegat Light, NJ to Glen Cove, NY on Long Island. More about it here.

Whoa. Cassina produced a 1:1 replica of Le Corbusier’s vacation home for an exhibit by the Royal Institute of British Architects. Le Corbusier built the Cabanon in 1952 for his holidays at Cap-Martin on the Cote D’Azure, retreating there every summer for more than ten years.

Yes, as in Philip Johnson’s Glass House.

The Glass House Moleskine® sketchbook features sketches by 29 architects, designers, and artists inspired by the home, quotes by Philip Johnson, and blank pages for notes or sketching. A limited edition notebook, the proceeds from it go to support the preservation and maintenance of Johnson’s famous architectural masterpiece, The Glass House (shown above).

This sketchbook is inspired by the site’s unique power of place, its role as a source of inspiration for architects, designers and artists, and the desire for visitors to pause, look closely, and document their observations as part of their site experience. In this spirit, the Glass House has launched a partnership with Moleskine®, the signature tool for creative minds, to produce a custom sketchbook.

The centerpiece of the notebook is Stephen Doyle’s 3D glass house:

Via If It’s Hip, It’s Here (Thanks Raf!)

I’ve been meaning to post this for months now. I love these teeny-tiny little houses by Tumbleweed that were covered in the NY Times.

While doing some browsing at Labyrinth Books the other day I came across this spectacular quote, above, in Counterpoint, a great book on Daniel Libeskind‘s work designed by Pentagram.

The images from the Spam Architecture series are generated by a computer program that accepts as input, junk email. Various patterns, keywords and rhythms found in the text are translated into three-dimensional modeling gestures.

Via Design Observer