High Line 23, or HL23, is a new green building from Neil M. Denari Architects that is currently under construction in the Chelsea art gallery district on Manhattan’s west side. The structure is a 14 floor mixed use of gallery space and posh condominiums with amazing views of the evolving High Line elevated park preservation and green space reuse project. With an impressively small footprint of just 40’ x 99’ and a multitude of green building technologies, HL23’s cantilevered silhouette is made even more exquisite by the expected achievement of LEED Gold certification.

“The building’s geometry is an ambitious response to the development site’s limited space, maximizing zoning restrictions and expanding the possibilities out over the park. Naturally ventilated and daylit spaces fill 11 residential condominiums fitted with water conserving fixtures, energy efficient appliances and low VOC materials. Reused and recycled materials are incorporated throughout the structure and 75% of construction waste will be reused and recycled to be diverted from landfills.”

A high-performance building envelope and highly reflective roofing material will decrease HL23’s heat and energy loads, as well as help moderate urban heat island effect. From its tiny footprint, HL23 towers skyward housing 39,000 square feet with homes between 1,850 and 3,600 s.f., including a top floor penthouse that will run $10.5 million. While among the leading architects of his time, Denari will count High Line 23 as his first free-standing building when completed in late 2009 – an enduring green design trend that we can’t get enough of.

It’s been a while since we featured an architectural find from Dubai, so I’m pleased to say that today’s structure comes all the way from Medellin, Colombia. The botanical gardens known as “Orquideorama” represents a relationship between architecture and living organisms. In this project, organic materials combine on two distinct levels, and each lets you define a different aspect of the project. On one hand, there is a micro-scale, which centres around the organization of materials and structures of natural life. Otherwise, the macro-scale of life forms encourages the your visual interpretation of the intersection of man made and natural environments.

When creating this botanical sanctuary, Plan B Architects focused on flexible laws and geometric patterns (honeycomb), which form a structure they’ve dubbed the flower-tree. The repetitive use of hexagons allows the audience to easily imagine the growth and expansion of the project, the future orientation of foliage and geometry of the earth below. Orquideorama is to be constructed in the same way that a garden is planted: a flower/hexagon grows next to the other, until it becomes a part of an entire forest of flowers/hexagons.

We’ve shown you prefab housing before. From the now boring myriad of shipping container options, to unlikely alternatives such as the m-ch, the selections are repetitive and outrageously pricey. Therefore it’s a welcome change when a new product is unveiled, and in this case, Sand & Birch Design have created a new way of conceptualizing modular housing. OFT is a compartmentalized space that is characterized by units, which are adaptable to your changeable necessities. Its’ creators recognized that as people’s needs change, so to does their optimum living space. In essence OFT serves as a temporary, just-in-time (JIT) housing option, allowing you to add or subtract space to your home.

According to Sand & Birch Design, “the name OFT comes from the word Loft, in which it has been taken out the “L”, that has to be meant like the dimension “Large”. The OFT is in fact of limited dimensions in its basic composition, but it easily lends itself as a temporary house for those with visiting in-laws, or perhaps as a home-office in your garden.” Such customization usually carries a hefty price tag, however in OFT’s case, it’s creators envision rental, and community sharing as means to reduce overall costs. Whether or not OFT makes it to a backyard near you, it’s certainly an improvement over yesteryear’s version of low cost temporary housing – trailer parks.

A yurt is a portable, wood lattice-framed dwelling that is still used today by nomadic herders on the steppes of Central Asia. They’re also all the rage amongst the granola crunching, treehugging, eco-conscious crowd. All one needs is a spot of land, or even a rooftop patio, where you can erect your very own yurt-based oasis. In the past, traditional Yurts have been hard to come by, but as they’ve grown in popularity, numerous companies are jumping on the bandwagon. Ecoshack is a seasoned veteran in this market, while their new Nomad Yurt is touted as the Cadillac of yurts (minus emissions of course).

Ecoshack’s sales pitch is apt, as it reads “Circular living = good living”. The Nomad only takes an hour or so to set up with a little practice and fits very nicely in the back of a small truck. Measuring 12 feet wide and 7 feet tall, with a roomy circular interior, a central opening for sunlight and breeze, and a rich material palette. The $8,000 Nomad “create a unique — even magical — experience of rest and relaxation for those who inhabit them. Used for centuries, perfect for today.”

Public art displays are often placed in major metropolitan centres where they are guaranteed visibility by the largest possible audience, thereby increasing overall awareness of the arts, and also as a pseudo-justification for the expense. In Canada, few civic leaders would ever approve the outlandish cost for a piece of art, if it meant that only a miniority of citizens could ever lay eyes on it. With this basic reasoning in mind, I was amazed when I came across the Halikonlahti Green Art collection, which supports remote exhibits around the Bay of Halikko, Finland. Launched in 2006 with a trio of exhibitions exploring art and ecology in the Baltic Sea Region, the collection has since grown to include additional works that celebrate the environment.

One such piece that really stands out is “The Mill“, which was created by Finnish architect and artist Sami Rintala, and architecture student Janne Saario. Located on the Halikko river in the south western province of Finland, The Mill serves as a modern wilderness shelter, which includes fireplaces and sleeping platforms for canoeists. The middle section houses a waterwheel, which harnesses the raw power of the stream to produce renewable energy for use in the shelter. From a distance, Rintala and Saario’s work appears to be an unfinished covered bridge, but the outdoor enthusiast will certainly see its’ value during cold downpours. As this artistic shelter could also play a critical role in life saving scenarios, I’d say it’s well worth the cost, regardless of how many people ever lay eyes on it.

If you’re sick of hearing the words Dubai and architecture in the same sentence put up your hand. It’s not as though I dislike the new radical buildings being created in the dessert oasis, however I am disappointed that I have to go halfway around the world to see them all. The silver lining is that these new buildings are concentrated in one region, so people can cross off umpteen must see buildings when they visit Dubai. Even so, a new massive island of architectural goodness reminds me of a galaxy that’s far, far away. I sense something. A presence I’ve not felt since…

The 1.5-billion-square-foot Waterfront City designed by Rem Koolhaas, is a self-contained city resting atop a man made island. Divided into 25 identical blocks, the island will be populated by a mix of tall and squat towers punctuated by more fantastic buildings, like a spiraling 82-story tower, and a 44-story sphere. The orb shaped deathstar will serve as a mini-city within the larger island city. Complete with a sprawling network of escalator tubes, and other elements plucked from the pages of science fiction, it makes me wonder when Dubai will say enough is enough.

How many times have you wished that you could discover a remote island, inhabited by animals and maybe a few Ewoks, who’ve never seen a human being? Sure the scenario is akin to the premise of Jurassic Park or King Kong, but what if you could see these creatures in their natural environment, free from the limited enclosures of a zoo? A new zoological park in Vincennes, France, designed by Paris architects Beckmann N’Thepe will do just that, with what they call “simulated geology”. Artificial earthforms will contain simulated environments within which animals will frolic and perhaps hunt one another for your viewing pleasure. Although entirely manmade, it’s better than your standard zoo.

The complex will be situated on 15 hectares containing six distinct “biozones,” and will run entirely on solar power. The park’s biozones include the savannah, the equatorial African rain forest, Patagonia, French Guiana, Madagascar, and Europe. Looking inwards from the perimeter, the landscape will offer views of geodesic bubbles, lush vegetation, as well as huge cliffs suited for cougars and bighorn sheep. Guests will be able to walk on pathways through safe areas, while views of more carnivorous creatures will be available through a few inches of reinforced plexi glass. Because the roaming areas are so large, viewing windows won’t guarantee you the perfect view of a lioness and her cubs, which makes it all the more precious when you are able to spy these critters. Again, although the Zoo de Vincennes is artificial, it demonstrates an improved commitment to preserve the animal kingdom.

Here’s a newsflash for those of you who’ve been living under a rock for the past few decades, smoking will kill you. There are so many disturbing stories related to the history of smoking, from Doctor’s who once prescribe cigarettes to their patients, to the accommodation of smoking in places such as airplanes and college classrooms. Society has made a great deal of progress towards curbing tobacco consumption and acceptance, but we’ve still got a ways to go. When I first saw this print ad from Saatchi & Saatchi, I was reminded of the fresco ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. It’s depiction of scores of people falling to their death from a cancer stick, gives me chills in that the nico-demons are winning the war. Preachiness aside, we must do more to stop this tragic trend. Live long and prosper.

You know where Hollywood is, and probably know where Bollywood is, but chances are you’ve never heard of TO-llywood. Studios have filmed titles including: the XMen trilogy, 300, Resident Evil, Capote, and The Day After Tomorrow, in whole or in part in Canada. Further, the Toronto Film Festival has become a world class event, drawing in celebrities, paparazzi as well as top notch studio and indie flicks. If all that wasn’t enough, the ‘Big Smoke’ will confirm Canada as key player in the biz with a new gazillion-dollar movie studio, complete with multiple sound stages, private screening rooms, and all the posh amenities those underpaid movie stars deserve. Sadly there are no rehab centres on site.

Without further adieu, images of Filmport’s premier facility have been released. Designed by Will Alsop in association with Toronto-based firm, Quadrangle Architect, the centre has a sleek red exterior and enveloping curved form. The iconic building will be an active and exciting meeting and working environment for everyone doing industry-related business in TO-llywood. I can already here the cries of those who opposed similar non-traditional designs of T-Dot’s outstanding landmarks, which include OCAD (pic / site) and the new addition to the ROM (pic / site). Keep an eye out for updates on this exciting project.