Urban Elements: Charging Stations

Source: Miloš Milivojević archdaily.com

‘Black Tree’ Public Solar Charger, Tašmajdan Park, Belgrade, Serbia, 2012 designed by Miloš Milivojevic 

Strawberry Company invented the first public solar charger for mobile phones – The Strawberry Tree. The new Black Tree is conceived as an artificial tree which transforms the solar energy into the necessary electrical energy and this way joins the surrounding forest in a common struggle for the planet richer in oxygen. With its function, this Strawberry Tree reminds us of insufficiently exploited potential of the energy of Sun, through people’s everyday habits such as sitting under the tree and using the nature as a shelter from the Sun. -- ArchDaily

Source: popupcity.net

Source: popupcity.net

AT&T Launches Solar Mobile Charging Stations In NYC

As part of an ongoing effort to keep New Yorkers connected, telecom provider AT&T launches free solar mobile charging stations in public spaces across the five boroughs of the Big Apple. The Street Charge stations are obviously more than some piece of street furniture. The interesting thing here is that they seem to be function as little meeting places. Almost everyone needs a battery recharge from time to time, so the solar-powered stations make the perfect occasions for people to relax for a moment and say “Hi” to a stranger who is in the same situation. -- The PopUp City

Curved Forms 7

Source: Richard Meier & Partners

Plan, Source: richardmeier.com

Jubilee Church, Rome, Italy, 2003 designed by Richard Meier & Partners

These three walls vary in height and are, in fact, segments of a sphere. Each shell is built of pre-cast  concrete segments, post-tensioned in situ; by virtue of the curvature in plan, each is independently supported. -- architect's web site

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Source: Enforma Studio archdaily.com

Plan, Source: archdaily.com

Vila Stoliv, Stoliv, Montenegro, 2010 designed by Enforma Studio

....in formal expression of “seashell”, which is “opening” to the “views”, creating unique space, both in interior and exterior. Unique design approach is implemented in two aspects. First, radial stone walls are creating three primary parts, which are fuctionaly and structuraly parts of house and ,second, into a big glass surfaces of house which “bring” enviroment in interior, creating subtle mix of inner and outer space. -- ArchDaily

Cylindrical 12

Source: Luc Boegly arcdhaily.com

La Luciole Concert Hall, Alençon, France, 2008 designed by Moussafir Architectes Associés

....the buildingʼs forms evolve from rectangular to cylindrical, yet the core idea – two tilted, interconnected volumes containing the audience and the stage – remained intact. -- ArchDaily

Gardens in the Sky

Source: halvorsondesign.com

Ulfelder Healing Garden , Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA designed by Halvorson Design

The Ulfelder Healing Garden unites two contemporary trends in landscape architecture: green roofs and therapeutic landscapes. The garden is located on the 8th floor of Massachusetts General Hospital's Yawkey Center, which provides clinical care for patients with cancer and other serious illnesses.

Designed by Halvorson Design in collaboration with the Yawkey Center's architects, Cambridge Seven, this healing garden is a welcoming refuge for patients, families, friends and care givers. Directly adjacent to the pediatric cancer facility, the garden is an oasis away from the waiting rooms, machines, IVs, and treatments—a place for people to gather, talk, reflect, and be consoled. -- architect's web site

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Source: archrecord.construction.com

Renaissance Barcelona Fira Hotel, Barcelona, Spain, 2012 designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel

The literal oasis is a central open-air garden that runs vertically through the hotel's 26 floors, filling every level with palm trees and other vegetation. This vertiginous, north-facing void, animated by zigzagging fire stairs, rises between two solid volumes containing guest rooms. These are accessed from single-loaded open galleries that overlook the garden and its spectacular views to the city. -- Architectural Record

Source: Patrick Bingham-Hall archdaily.com

PARKROYAL on Pickering, Singapore, 2013 designed by WOHA

Massive curvaceous sky-gardens, draped with tropical plants and supporting swathes of frangipani and palm trees, are cantilevered at every fourth level between the blocks of guest rooms. Greenery flourishes throughout the entire complex, and the trees and gardens of the hotel appears to merge with those of the adjoining park as one continuous sweep of urban parkland. -- ArchDaily

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