realities:united (realU), a studio for art, architecture and technology is a company founded by brothers Tim Edler and Jan Edler. They work with all sorts of clients but their architectural work is very cool and unique, focusing on incorporating bold media applications. My favorite work by realities:united to date is their Open the House concept, but their most offbeat structures, in my opinion are their light-minded structures.
Such as the BIX / Kunsthaus in Graz concept: An awesome array of 930 fluorescent lamps integrated into the eastern Plexiglas facade of the Kunsthaus Graz. (see top image and image below). This unique …read more

Today we have a guest post… (more on why tomorrow). Until then, enjoy…

Known for her unique lighting designs with Aqua Creations, Ayala Serfaty has always drawn on one major source of inspiration: The Ocean. She has taken her supreme ocean inspired collection to the next level with this magical restaurant located beneath – yes beneath – the Red Sea.

Shigeru Ban Architects, who you may know from their amazing paper tube structures, have a pretty cool structure in progress right now, actually, they’re supposed to be completed very soon.
Metal Shutter Houses

This condo building on Manhattan’s West side is a lovely and modern building that features motorized perforated metal shutters, thus the building can be completely opened or closed. The exterior is shiny, unique, and stunning, but the interior is striking as well. Take a look.
[images via Shigeru Ban Architects]

UArchitects converted the De Maasberg, in Overloon, Netherlands from a prison to a beautiful juvenile detention institution. Here, where I live, you don’t meet kids in trouble, who live so well, or at least in a structure so nicely designed.

The goal was to surround the kids with nature – a concept that worked very well here. There’s an open floor plan as well, connecting the various components, such as office, classrooms, living spaces, and so on.
You can read more about this great streamlined building, and see some very nice photos at World Architecture News.
[Image via World Architecture News]

I was that kid who would hit the library on a Saturday, walk out with a stack of books (and by stack I mean as many as they’d let me have – usually 20+), and be ready to head back by mid-week. I’ve always read a lot, read fast, and loved the library. Imagine my delight when someone sent me this post link; Librophiliac Love Letter: A Compendium of Beautiful Libraries.
All the libraries in this post are beautiful, but my favorite is maybe, Biblioteca do Palàcio Nacional da Ajuda Lisboa III, Lisbon, Portugal. It’s not as fancy as some others, …read more

Does this building look a little like bubble wrap to you? I don’t know why, but I see it and think, “Hmmm, bubble wrap… pop.” Weird. It’s a cool building none the less.

Bustler has more info and plenty of photos of this J. MAYER H. Architects project; the An der Alster 1 office building.

You may remember my winter dream home… If not here it is again:

The Delta Shelter is from Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects – actually I keep meaning to do an update on this house. But first let’s look at a new project from Tom Kundig.
Eleven Eleven East Pike is the first condo building from designer Kundig and will be offering a nice high end look and feel but not at a completely unreachable high end price. Here’s a first look at what’s planned for the exterior. Not a bad slice of color for a Seattle structure. It looks great …read more

Since I don’t, what I can tell you about Kauffmann Theilig & Partner is that their designs rock. Sure I could look them up on some English websites but it’s the weekend. Let’s just have a nice show.
Kindergarten:

Light:

You can see this is going somewhere good:

Wavy amazement: Actually, this home, I did take the time to look up because I really like it. Here’s the full scoop from Architectural Record.

Visit Kauffmann Theilig & Partner for more.

I was looking for a different house when I came across this slice of unique; the Houses of Goa museum created by Panjim local architect Gerard da Cunha.
I guess its skinny nature would encourage you to stick to that New Years diet resolution.

A little tilting though. Sort of makes you dizzy.

There are many architect awards each year but the BusinessWeek & Architectural Record Awards actually awards not only form, design, and beauty but also awards based on contribution to business. The 10th year winners were recently announced. There were over 100 applicants this year from worldwide teams of architects and their business clients so the jury; a mix of editors from BusinessWeek and Architectural Record had a tough job I bet.
According to BusinessWeek, “The strategic impact of these designs can be seen in everything from higher ticket sales at the theater to improved employee retention, better brand awareness, and …read more