Hasta La Ideas

Studio Libeskind has won planning permission to build a 105-metre-high pointed skyscraper in the centre of Jerusalem – set to become the city’s second-tallest building.

Called the Pyramid Tower, the 26-storey, mixed-use building will be constructed next to the Mahane Yehuda market – commonly called “The Shuk” – in the centre of the Israeli city.

With a height of 105 metres, it will be just 16 metres shorter than the city’s tallest building – the 121-metre-high Holyland Tower 1.

Designed in conjunction with local architect Yigal Levi, the tower will contain 200 luxury apartments, a boutique hotel, and a rooftop restaurant and observatory that will offer sweeping views.

The tower’s tapered form will create open space around the structure and enables natural light to reach ground-level spaces, said architect Daniel Libeskind, who was born in Poland and is based in New York.

Libeskind is well known for his expressive and often angular architecture. Recent completed projects include a convention centre in the Beligan city of Mons and housing complex in Milan designed with Zaha Hadid.

A guiding force during the design process for the Pyramid Tower was the site’s historic context, said Libeskind.

“The Pyramid mediates between ancient traditions and myths, while providing a 21st century reinterpretation of that great form,” he said.”The design complements the context and gives the neighbourhood a vibrant public space in the heart of the ancient city.”

The building’s facade will feature a geometric pattern made of Jerusalem stone and glass – a fusion of vernacular and modern design, according to the firm.

“The pattern and relief of the facade refers to traditional, local typologies while also fulfilling contemporary functions,” said the firm.

The 35,000-square-metre project also features a public plaza at ground level. An arched colonnade will connect the plaza to a shopping arcade.

“With its many amenities and public spaces, The Pyramid is set to become an integral part of the neighbourhood, servicing citizens and tourists alike,” Studio Libeskind said.

The project is expected to break ground by 2019. According to reports, construction must begin within five years or the building permits could be revoked.

The design was approved in May by a planning and building committee headed by the city’s deputy mayor Kobi Kahlon.

Locally, the tower has earned the nickname “Freedom Pyramid” – a reference to Libeskind’s proposed Freedom Tower for the World Trade Center site in New York.

Studio Libeskind has offices in New York City, Milan and Zurich. Daniel Libeskind founded the firm in 1989 with his wife, Nina, after he won the competition to design the Jewish Museum Berlin.

The post Daniel Libeskind gets green light for pyramid-shaped skyscraper in Jerusalem appeared first on Dezeen.

Dutch airline KLM and Delft University of Technology have released concept designs for an aircraft with a “blended wing body”, which could transport passengers directly from the UK to Australia.

The AHEAD aircraft, which stands for Advanced Hybrid Engine Aircraft Development, would carry 300 passengers over a range of 14,000 kilometres – approximately the distance from London to Darwin.

To improve aircraft efficiency and allow for longer flights, KLM’s engineering and maintenance department worked with engineers and designers at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft). The result is a design that features two sets of wings – a small pair by the nose and a large set at the rear – that blend into the body.

These elements are formed as a single curving shape, rather than attaching the wings as appendages to either side of the plane’s fuselage like in current aircraft designs.

The continuous profile is designed to improve air flow over the aircraft and reduce drag, which planes currently overcome by using more engine power, and therefore more fuel.

“A blended wing body is one of the very promising designs to minimise the drag and, is so doing, making aircraft much more fuel-efficient,” said KLM engineer Rob Duivis on the company’s blog.

The team is also proposing a hybrid engine to replace conventional turbofan engines.

In turbofans, large volumes of air flow through and around the engine, then some of the air is used to burn kerosene fuel in a combustion chamber. The heated air then drives the turbines that propel the vehicle forward.

KLM’s new engine would use two different combustion systems. The first burns either cryogenic hydrogen or liquefied natural gas (LNG), and the second burns either kerosene or biofuel.

“By using two different combustor and fuel systems, the engine’s total efficiency increases and emissions are reduced,” said Duivis.

A counter-rotating fan is another feature of the new engine. Comprising two rows of blades that rotate in opposite directions, the large fan would produce most of the engine thrust.

To further reduce drag, the engines would be mounted onto the back of the aircraft beneath curved pods rather than under the wings.

“The AHEAD design is a long-term study, with many aspects yet to be researched,” said Duivis, who predicts that an aircraft of this type would be introduced around 2050.

KLM has previously worked with Dutch designers Hella Jongerius and Marcel Wanders to create cabin interiors and tableware.

Ideas for improving aviation vary greatly in scale and plausibility. Among the more practical suggestions are folding seats patented by Airbus and Priestmangoode’s plans to add larger overhead compartments.

More extreme proposals put forward recently by designers include using OLED screens to make aircraft cabins appear see-through, and a hybrid car and plane that can be used both on roads and in the skies.

The post KLM and TU Delft propose long-distance aircraft featuring wings that merge with its body appeared first on Dezeen.

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It happens every day: The city has graciously created bike lanes along certain avenues, but you don’t have to cycle for more than a few blocks before you encounter some jackass in an SUV double-parked right in the middle of one.

New York City is not alone in this, of course; a rather XL-sized cyclist from Brazil finds cars often blocking the bike lanes in his own city, and has come up with his own solution for removing them. What cyclist hasn’t fantasized about doing this?

A few years ago we showed you Casey Neistat’s analysis of the blocked-bike-lanes problem, and the video was funny enough that it bears a repeat viewing:

Speaking of Neistat and bicycles, I’ve seen him zip past my block numerous times in the past few years (his studio is nearby) on his own bike. I wondered what he might make of CitiBike, and sure enough, he’s made a video analyzing the system in an entertaining way.

He then sent it to the New York Times, who “were forced to reject it due the to gratuitous use of the word ASS,” he writes. “I was unwilling to remove the profanity.” Here it is, in all its uncut glory: