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Walls of water

In designing the prototype of this unusual house, a successful combination of state-of-the-art technology applied to the environment, Californian architects Lisa Iwamoto and Craig Scott (Iwamoto Scott Architecture) took inspiration from the jellyfish.

In designing the prototype of this unusual house, a successful combination of state-of-the-art technology applied to the environment, Californian architects Lisa Iwamoto and Craig Scott (Iwamoto Scott Architecture) took inspiration from the jellyfish. Like the marine invertebrate that consists almost entirely of water, the Jelly Fish House also depends largely on the liquid element.

Thanks to a sophisticated outer envelope (the result of complicated mathematical triangulations and diagrams) and a futuristic filtering system (that uses the properties of titanium dioxide to screen ultra violet rays), rainwater is actually brought down from the roof inside the walls where it is purified and stored. The water is then used for normal domestic activities as well as supplying the building’s heating and cooling system.

The design has been conceived for Treasure Island, a small artificial island off the bay of San Francisco connected by an isthmus to Yerba Buena Island and once used by the American army. After clearing the land contaminated by military use, the Lennar Corporation, one of America’s leading construction firms, intends to transform the island into a residential and agricultural area. An ecological oasis that will be totally self-sufficient. Elena Sommariva

http://www.iwamotoscott.com

In Barcelona, a new tower made of colored glass

A project by GCA Architects uses AGC’s Planibel Coloured glass to to realize the Torre Colonial, a 21-story building that now becomes part of the city’s skyline.