Architecture // Current

Colossus of Rhodes rebuilt as giant light sculpture

One of the world's seven ancient wonders rebuilt as a giant light sculpture to inspire and celebrate peace.

tatorsal
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What will be at 56 Leonard Steet, NYC?

Prices for the residences at 56 Leonard Street range from...

mashdata
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Great Pyramid Mystery to Be Solved by Hidden Room?

A sealed space in Egypt's Great Pyramid may help solve a centuries-old mystery: How did the ancient Egyptians move two... more

bedeboop
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The greatest data center in the world ever. Fit for any Bond villain

This is where I would want my website to be hosted from if I was trying to take over the world. This underground data center... more

greggyg
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Improbable buildings

Check out artist Filip Dujardin's rather unusual architectural creations... (more pics and info at link)

purplefox
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10 Amazing Buildings Made of Dirt and Straw

Just shows what you can do with adobe. I wish my flat is this well-insulated and pretty... (the material as opposed to... more

purplefox
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Chinese firms to build houses out of tainted milk?

What to do with all that melamine-tainted milk? CDT reports that while some companies have gone the rather more unscrupulous... more

purplefox
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Green skyscrapers:exclusive interview with Jeff Brodsky of Related Companies

Will the crushing economy derail the big Green development plans for our cities and towns? As cities continue to grow, large... more

Greenpointer
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Architectural plans of Auschwitz death camp found in Berlin

The German paper Bild revealed never-before-seen architectural plans of the Auschwitz extermination camp on Saturday. The... more

GeoffNI
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Bulgarians rebuilding Seuthopolis, the city thats built below Sea level.

This anchient Bularian city from the time four centurys before Christ, was built below the water level of the huge lake it resides... more

Jeshi
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Kazakhstan Getting Futuristic Architectural Overhaul

Kazakhstan is looking to get a shiney new and ultra-futuristic makeover, with architect David Owen Moss and- ach, Gizmodo's... more

purplefox
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The best building in the world?

You saw some of the world's ugliest buildings here: http://current.com/items/89480852_world_s_ugliest_buildings Now, see... more

nazbags
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Pretty nuclear power plants

Some proposals to improve the way nuclear power plants look. At the moment, they all look like nothing more than concrete... more

Number1BadBoy
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Use FREE software to make MONEY?

The whole design was done for 100% with free software.

mashdata
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World's ugliest buildings

Check it out- a CNN gallery of some of the world's ugliest buildings. I don't think some of them are half bad ...

nazbags
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Dansk Moderne

Tommy & Saskia's biking tour of Danish Modernist city project Gellerup, built in the late 60's by Danish arhictect... more

saskia
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Building Societies

How can architecture transform society? A couple new books, "Havana Before Castro" and "The Chinese Dream: A... more

Kinga_Philipps
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LONDON, England (CNN) -- A landscape restoration of a rubbish dump has won the Energy, Waste and Recycling category at the 2008 World Architecture Festival in Barcelona, Spain.

Spanish architects Batlle and Roig have returned a 150 hectare rubbish dump back to nature.

more photos » "La Vall d'en Joan" (The Valley of Joan) project, designed by Spanish architects Batlle and Roig, has transformed a 150 hectare site in the Garraf Natural Park, south-west of Barcelona into a green terraced agricultural landscape.

In awarding the prize, judges Luis Mansilla -- Mansilla + Tunon architects -- and Martin Keiding -- editor-in-chief of Arkitektur DK -- described the scheme as: "a perfect example of bringing dead nature back to life by converting rubbish into a beautiful piece of landscape architecture...using few and humble means".

Joan Roig of Batlle and Roig Architects told CNN: "The idea was to create a system of hills and banks in a way that would avoid erosion from water and to give the rubbish dump back to nature with a natural design."

Work to transform the site -- the largest landfill in Spain -- began in 2000 and was completed earlier this year. It is a striking redrawing of a previously scarred and polluted landscape.

The landfill has been servicing Barcelona's metropolitan area for over 30 years. More than 20 million tons of rubbish was spread around the valley before the site was closed in 2006. In some places, you would have to dig down over 100 meters before you found soil again.

But this isn't just a cosmetic makeover. There is an underground drainage system on site which filters contaminated waste fluids. Part of this recycled water is then used to irrigate the park. "The whole project is very sustainable," Roig said.

Furthermore, the dump is also utilizing the bio gas that is emitted to provide electricity.

Some of the rubbish has remained above ground. Housed in large steel cages which flank the entrance to the site, Roig says they serve as a permanent reminder to visitors of the site's previous life.

Judge, Martin Keiding told CNN: "It's a very beautiful and simple design. It is landscape architecture that is inspiring. It is a very good example that everyone could look at and say: 'We could do the same.' This competition is about pointing out good examples that could inspire architects."
LONDON, England (CNN) -- A landscape restoration of a rubbish dump has won the Energy, Waste and Recycling category at the 2008... more