Steven Holl: Proposal for Institute for Contemporary Art

Sited at the edge of the Virginia Commonwealth University campus in Richmond, Virginia, the new Institute for Contemporary Art will link the University with the surrounding community.  The new Institute for Contemporary Art is organized in four galleries, each with a different character. Flexibility allows for four separate exhibitions, one continuous exhibition, or combinations. Galleries can be closed for installations without affecting the circulation to the others. 

For plans, sections, and renderings of the proposed project visit archdaily.

Resonant Chamber by rvtr

Resonant Chamber, an interior envelope system that deploys the principles of rigid origami, transforms the acoustic environment through dynamic spatial, material and electro-acoustic technologies. The aim of rvtr is to develop a soundsphere able to adjust its properties in response to changing sonic conditions, altering the sound of a space during performance and creating an instrument at the scale of architecture, flexible enough that it might be capable of being played.

more video info and images at ArchDaily.

Archipelago Cinema by Buro Ole Scheeren

A work with a strong connection to the local community, Archipelago Cinema is based on the techniques used by fishermen to construct floating lobster farms. The raft is built out of recycled materials as a series of individual modules to allow for flexibility for its future use. 

more at ArchDaily.

Steam Blower House by Heinrich Böll Architect

This building was originally built as a steam blower house which was part of a huge steel works in the very centre of the city of Bochum. It is one of the few remaining structures of the industrial era.The architecture is designed to preserve as much as possible of the original atmosphere. Only a few elements have been added such as a new staircase and a huge glass façade to highlight the big studios.

more at ArchDaily.

Metal: How it Works on BBC4

Professor Mark Miodownik travels to Israel to trace the history of our love affair with gleaming, lustrous metal. He learns how we first extracted glinting copper from dull rock and used it to shape our world and reveals how our eternal quest for lighter, stronger metals led us to forge hard, sharp steel from malleable iron and to create complex alloys in order to conquer the skies.

He investigates metals at the atomic level to reveal mysterious properties such as why they get stronger when they are hit, and he discovers how metal crystals can be grown to survive inside one of our most extreme environments - the jet engine

watch a clip here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00qgy6x
and watch tonight at 9PM