living buildings

a couple of buildings have caught my eye this week. the first are the edgar street towers designed by iwamotoscott architecture from an article on inhabitat. (also check out iwamotoscott's very innovative jellyfish house on their site.) the two towers spiral as they rise and intertwine to create an open lung system with central areas that are filled with plants. these areas (or bio-filtration terrarium's as inhabitat calls them) will act as air purifiers for the entire building. the building also features fiber-optic daylighting, the fiber-optic cables will channel daylight into the interior of the building, and a perforated skin for shading and minimizing wind resistance. here are a few renderings:




the second structure was actually built in 1993 in osaka by gaetano pesce, an italian architect and designer. the exterior is covered with indigenous plants which grow out of "pockets" constructed of steel-covered concrete panels and fiberglass. here's a link to an article about the building and here are some shots of the exterior:



there's also another article about the "what would you ask nature?" biomimicry challenge in fast company. this week's team features ideo and the usgbc and has to do with communication and structure within an organization. some natural strategies investigated include feedback loops, swarming and the importance of keystone species. the article is on the long side but worth the read.

and finally, an article about design inspired by bugs. there are chairs based on insect tracks and buildings with "tunnels" viewable from the outside like an ant farm. and while the pieces and buildings are certainly bioinspired i don't get the sense that it's for the sake of sustainability or efficiency which i feel is important. in any case, here's the wood lice trail chair: