on the weekend the 2010 KL designweek opened its doors with a ROAAARR, welcoming Sydneys Digital origami tigers, previously exhibited at Customs House.
The tigers further the realationship between sydney and KL and their respective design communities.
Chris Bosse will attend the Design week and speak on behalf of the AIA and Asialink on saturday 8th at the National Art Gallery Malaysia (Balai Seni Lukis Negara)
the tigers are on show at the Pavilion Kuala Lumpur 1st May - 13th May 2010
thanks to Izu, Juan, Suzanna and the entire KLdesignweek team, Century Logistics for freightforwarding and Jennifer Kwok customs house city of Sydney for their generous support and creativity.!!!
special thanks to WWF
Condom architecture
A team of Sydney-based designers are the pioneers behind an unusual proposal for encasing buildings with hi-tech sheaths. Jay Merrick unwraps 'condom architecture'
Eine neue Haut für den UTS Tower in Sydney und um die Welt reisende Origami-Tiger: Dies sind nur zwei der zukunftsweisenden Projekte von LAVA. Die drei deutschen Planer des Laboratory for Visionary Architecture mit Büros in Stuttgart und Sydney sind ständig auf der Suche nach neuen Räumen mit nachhaltigen Konzepten.
The DIGITAL ORIGAMI TIGERS are boarding a container ship tomorrow morning bound to Kuala Lumpur where they will be part of the 2010 KL design week.http://www.kualalumpurdesignweek.com.my
What initially began as a speculative proposal to reshape the UTS tower on Broadway has evolved into a broader architectural idea for re-purposing inefficient or outdated buildings as an alternative to demolishing and rebuilding ( which comes with a huge financial and environmental expense) LAVA has developed a simple, cost effective and easily constructed building skin that can potentially transform the identity, sustainability and interior comfort of an existing structure such as the UTS tower.
The ‘skin’ is a translucent cocoon that can create its own ‘micro climate’. It can generate its own energy with photo-voltaic cells, could collect rain water, improve the distribution of natural daylight and it can use available convective energy to power the building’s ventilation requirements.
A pre-existing building is wrapped with three-dimensional lightweight, high performance composite mesh textile. Surface tension allows the membrane to freely stretch over a light steel frame around walls and roof elements achieving maximum visual impact with minimal material effort.
The skin with embedded LED strips could act as an intelligent media surface and be used for dynamic animation and to communicate information into the public realm – effectively integrating principles of architecture, fashion, media and communication design into a new hybrid typology.
“A re-skinned UTS Tower could be an example of sustainability, innovation, cutting edge design and creative education, without demolishing and rebuilding the 1960s icon,” says Chris Bosse, Director of LAVA.”When it was built the Broadway tower was cutting edge, with latest building technologies and principles that have partially become obsolete.”
The reskinning technology could be easily applied to other buildings in need of a facelift such as the Goulburn street carpark, Sydney. One quickly and cost-efficiently enhance their performance and aesthetics through this minimal intervention.
The re-skin concept continues LAVA’s research into sustainable public architecture by combining lightweight contemporary materials with the latest digital fabrication technologies with the aim of achievingmore(architecture)with less(material/energy/time).
All images and Photographs by LAVA
Laboratory for Visionary Architecture Asia Pacific
Chris Bosse, Tobias Wallisser, Alexander Rieck
Jarrod Lamshed, Erik Escalante, Esan Rahmani,
Niklas Muehlich, Kim Ngyuen Ngoc, Anh-Dao Trinh,
JonasEpper Stefan Bassing, Simone Martin,
Model with the great support of:
Andrew Southwood-Jones, Catherine Zhuang, Christen Meli, Alexander Kashin
animation by LAVA feat. time-lapse by Peter Murphy
Sustainability concept: Ross Harding from Advanced Environmental.
Two giant digital origami tigers playfully celebrate Chinese New Year on the forecourt of Customs House, Sydney from 11 February –14 March 2010. The crouching digital tigers combine ancient lantern making methods with cutting edge digital design and fabrication technology, bringing east and west together through tradition and innovation.
The big cats are a collaboration between multinational architectural practice Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (LAVA) and Customs House to mark the lunar year of the tiger and raise awareness about the endangered status of tigers. The tigers are inspired by “zhezhi”, a Chinese term for paper folding, more popularly known by its Japanese name “origami”. Traditional Chinese lantern makers in Sichuan province, where lantern making has been taking place for over 800 years and local artisans were consulted. The Chinese or Lunar New Year is the most important Chinese holiday and starts with a Lantern Festival. The Chinese lunar astrological sign is the metal tiger in 2010. The tigers are the size of a boat at 2.5 metres high and 7 metres long yet weigh only 200kgs and use fully recyclable materials, aluminium and barrisol, a new light weight reusable stretch material. Pulsating low energy LED lighting brings the sculptures to life. Chris Bosse, LAVA director says: “The project continues LAVA’s mission in lightweight structures to build MORE WITH LESS.”
“The tigers are part of an ongoing multidisciplinary program featuring contemporary architecture, installations, photography and digital media exhibitions in Customs House, ” said Jennifer Kwok, manager of Customs House.
Giant digital origami tigers 11 February – 14 March 2010 Customs House 1 Alfred Street, Circular Quay, Sydney, Australia
Laboratory for Visionary Architecture Asia Pacific Chris Bosse, Tobias Wallisser, Alexander Rieck Niklas Muehlich, Jarrod Lamshed, Erik Escalante, Esan Rahmani, Anh‐Dao Trinh, Jonas Epper, Stefan Bassing, Simon Wenzel, Isabel Fischer
www.l‐a‐v‐a.net
Sydney ‐ Stuttgart ‐ Abu Dhabi – Shanghai
Fabrication Sydney Stretch Ceilings Barissol, a new recyclable stretch material. www.barrisolsydney.com.au
Customs House Jennifer Kwok ‐ Manager and Producer Vicki Matin Jacqueline Singh www.sydneycustomshouse.com.au
What will the city of the future look like? Carbon-neutral,no waste,no cars a city that relies entirely on solar and other renewable energy sources. This is a visionary project that is now becoming reality. In the desert of Abu Dhabi urban planners,architects and researchers are building the world's first eco city: Masdar City. ARTS.21 went to take a look.
Creativity World Forum 2009: Architecture professormeets acclaimed musician Tobias Wallisser and Ken Hensley about the digital revolution in architecture and music
STUTTGART/LUDWIGSBURG – Distinguished participants from a broad range of creative sectors will be attending the Creativity World Forum in Ludwigsburg, Germany on the 1st and 2nd of December. As a practitioner of modern architecture, Tobias Wallisser will be offering insights into the possibilities offered by digital technologies for new designs and spatial concepts. In his opinion, people no longer need the same spaces they did fifty years ago, an idea that becomes apparent in the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart where he acted as the project architect. Wallisser teaches digital design at the Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design.
I've just given a lecture at the Hong Kong Chinese University and am delivering a keynote lecture about the future of sustainable architecture at the 11th CHTF, China International Forum on Energy Saving, Emission Reduction and New Energy, in Shenzhen this week. Other speakers include Davina Jackson from Australia talking about DATA cities, China's experts and leaders in renewable technologies [solar power, wind power and emission friendly technologies] including LIU Zhijun, Minister of Railways, and directors of electric and hybrid car manufacturers. My visit coincided with the visit of US president Obama and is amazing to see him all over the media. I am impressed that China seems to be taking climate change and carbon emission very seriously now. Chinas advancement in renewable energies, electric cars and photovoltaics is amazing.
Chris Bosse was invited to the final reviews at the Institut für Architektur, Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien [University of Applied Arts, Vienna].
we are here at the World Architecture Festival in Barcelona. Yesterday LAVA presented the Masdar plaza in UAE with Gerard Evenden, director at Foster + Partners to the world architecture community. This year LAVA was on the jury with a long list of people including Kieran Long , Charles Jencks and Bjarke Ingels to award the world's best buildings. Finalists and winners in their category from Australia included McBride Charles Ryan for the Klein Bottle house; Choi Ropiha for the Times Square ticket booth; and Allan Jack and Cottier for the Berry Sports Hall. Barcelona presented itself in the best weather!!
LAVA has designed the VIP and Sponsor Hospitality Village for the Qatar Tennis Tournaments in association with DESIGNSPORT. Implementation by DESIGNSPORT/THELOOKCOMPANY.
> Sony Ericsson Championships Women's Tennis Tournament
"I am working in my grass green office between lava lamps and coffeeshops in surry hills. Behind me is LAVA design for the Michael Schumacher Tower, Abu Dhabi UAE"
this must be the nicest review we have ever had for a talk...:
PERTH, we LAVA YOU
"Happy Architecture Week Perth-ites. I just got back from the Institute’s Chris Bosse (LAVA) talk – absolutely brilliant! He was so so so good, a real inspiration. I really wish they had have made the tickets cheaper – i reckon you could have easily got quite a few hundred young architects, students and other interested people to come along – and they would not be disappointed. Its great that Perth managed to get such an awesome talent to come over here, even if he is just here for a few days. I really enjoyed hearing the way LAVA explore the concepts of space, functionality, beauty, structure and atmosphere as being essential ingredients to all their design explorations.
LAVA get a lot of their inspiration from nature and use computer modelling and calculation tools quite extensively to work through different options as solutions are investigated. Chris went through the design of the Beijing Olympic Water Cube Project. Quite amazing, the 6 000 bubbles are made up of 22 000 individually sized and individually load-calculated steel members. And there are so many integrated environmental principles, like the insulated but openable walls and ceilings, and great amounts of natural light, and its also a very functional building for the swimming competition users.
And that was just the first half hour…i could go on about them all night. If you ever get a chance to listen to any of the LAVA crew talk about their work please go, they are great!
Oh and anyone who hasn’t checked out their Masdar City Centre proposal – check it out, its beautiful!"
We are pleased to announce that LAVA won the 2009 Environmental Award at the Cityscape Awards Ceremony last night, for the MASDAR MHCC project.
The project was up against strong competition, with District 49 in Dubai by Klingmann Architects, and Sime Darby Idea House in Malaysia by Broadway Malyan. The award was for any project entered in any category that the judges felt exemplified stronger ideas regarding environmental awareness and architectural integrity.
Gary Power accepted the award on LAVA’s behalf, and in his acceptance speech he acknowledged the great contribution of the team, specifically Arup, Transsolar and Edaw.
Please see attached photos of the certificate and statuette,
Launched at the 2008 Cityscape exhibition in Dubai in the presence of the formula one legend himself, the project has gained international recognition , with currently 39000 webhits for lava +mswct and publications, lectures and exhibtitions on the worldstage. Most recently LAVA`s unique design was featured on Etihad magazine, Qantas magazine, Australian financial Review, Sydney morning herald and was the centrepiece of Prof Tobias Wallissers Lecture about "Paramatric cathedrals of the future" in Berlin Zurich London and Bologna.
623 projects from architects and interior designers from 34 countries were considered in four categories in the Deutsche Messe AG’s contractworld.award for 2010. LAVA was shortlisted in the “New Generation” with its Sherman Bibliotheca a stunning architectural installation for displaying catalogues and other publications commissioned for the first anniversary of the Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation (SCAF) in Sydney. LAVA will present the project on 18th January 2010 at the contractworld, at the Exhibition Centre, Hannover.
image: 
LAVAs design for the first Michael schumacher world championship tower, also known as the snowflake tower, due to its inherent geometry based on snowflakes, keeps attracting publicity.
