US firm Studio Gang has unveiled plans for a glass tower that is “sculpted by the angles of the sun”, adjacent to the High Line in New York’s Meatpacking district.

The office building at 40 Tenth Avenue will sit between the popular elevated park and the Hudson River, close to the Standard Hotel.

The location is also near to BIG’s twisting towers that are currently under construction and opposite the site for Thomas Heatherwick’s Pier 55 park.

The building’s shape was informed by the path of the sun over the site, with sections removed from the cuboid form to prevent blocking light and views.

The result is a “gem-like facade”, created by faceted glass panels across the angled sections of external wall.

“Sculpted by the angles of the sun, the Solar Carve Tower explores how shaping a building in response to solar access and other site-specific criteria can expand its architectural potential,” said Studio Gang, which is based in Chicago and led by architect Jeanne Gang.

This approach – dubbed “solar carving” – was developed as part of the firm’s tall building research.

The Solar Carve Tower will include 166,750 square feet (15,492 square metres) of floorspace. An outdoor area will extend from the High Line up to the entrance and benefit from maximum sun exposure thanks to the building’s form.

More private external space will be provided on the roof, from which occupants will enjoy views of Downtown Manhattan.

The transformation of the High Line from a disused elevated railway to a public park, by Diller Scofidio + Renfro and James Corner Field Operations in 2009, has spurred a boom of development along its length.

Projects by Zaha Hadid Architects and Renzo Piano are among those to have sprung up in the vicinity, with the massive Hudson Yards development also located at the top end.

Studio Gang’s other projects in New York include an extension to the American Museum of Natural History and a fire station in Brooklyn. The firm has also revealed plans for a tiered tower in St Louis and is working on a supertall skyscraper for Chicago.

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Benn + Penna Architecture has renovated and extended a dilapidated terrace in Sydney‘s eastern suburbs, creating a new kitchen with a long counter that continues into a planted courtyard.

New South Wales practice Benn + Penna Architecture was asked to transform the residence for a scientist, who wanted to improve the natural lighting of the existing dark rooms and form a better connection to the garden.

The architects also wanted to make a subtle play on the long and thin houses that occupy the narrow plots of the Surry Hills suburb.

“The brief was to transform a previously introverted and dilapidated terrace house into one that is spacious and full of light,” the architects told Dezeen.

“The client requested seamless connections between kitchen, living and dining spaces, as well as to the garden space at the rear of the property.”

By extending the rear of the residence, and removing the existing back wall on the ground floor, the architects created an open-plan kitchen and living room with glass doors that open to the courtyard.

The long kitchen cabinet extends from the inside to the outdoor space, where it incorporates a barbecue. As it reaches the end of the courtyard, the counter’s level drops and changes direction to create a bench that faces into the kitchen.

The wall behind the bench is covered white mosaic tiles to reflect northern light back into both the garden and kitchen.

Light materials are used inside throughout the residence, including pale timber flooring and white-painted walls, to keep the spaces bright. These simple finishes are also intended to complement the brickwork of neighbouring residences.

“The pared back and understated interior is designed to foreground the rich texture of Surry Hills brickwork surrounding the site,” said the architects.

“Materials are used to strategically amplify the presence of light inside the house,” they continued. “Pale timber is used to create a sense of lightness in the space.”

A delicate, white steel staircase with wooden treads rises through the middle of the building. It is topped with a large skylight to bring natural light down into the centre of the house.

On the floor above, the architects created a bathroom and master bedroom with folding glass doors that open to a private terrace overlooking the courtyard.

Other recently transformed residences in Sydney include a contemporary concrete and glass extension by CO-AP and one by Nick Bell Design featuring a concertina rooflight.

Photography is by Tom Ferguson.

Project credits:

Architect: Benn + Penna Architects
Project team  Andrew Benn (principal) and Sean Tran (Architectural Assistant)
Builder: ADON Constructions

The post Worktop extends from kitchen to garden in Sydney residence by Benn + Penna Architecture appeared first on Dezeen.

Two non-astronauts with the desire to get lunar and a “significant deposit,” are the initial people SpaceX will be taking to the moon next year—according to founder Elon Musk. While the cost for the commercial space trip hasn’t been officially announced……

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Japan’s NHK network has an educational children’s television show called “Pythagora Switch.” The program is meant to nurture the imaginations of children aged four through six by introducing them to “mysterious structures, interesting ideas and various phenomena,” and to that end the segments are always bookended with short videos of Rube Goldberg machines.

YouTuber KeN KeN has compiled many of these interstitials on his channel. It’s tough to describe what these machines are like without watching them, so we’ve pulled a bunch for you. They’re paradoxically more simple and yet more complex than we’re using to seeing with Western Rube Goldberg machines, and because they’re so short—most are less than 30 seconds—they’re addictively watchable:

If you’ve not guessed, the type/single character that each machine ends up spelling out is the show’s title/first character.

There are tons more of these videos here.

Via The Awesomer

See Also:

Mind-Bending, Magnet-Integrating Rube Goldberg Machine

As much as we all dig Capri Sun (don’t lie), pouches aren’t a great way to enjoy your morning coffee. No heady aroma, not a lot of temperature control. Astronauts aboard low-gravity vessels have traditionally had to make do with the sub-par ergonomics of liquid sacks at tea time, but thanks to researchers at Portland State, space tea is now more relaxing while staying NASA-approved.

The Space Cup was designed by Mark Weislogel, Andrew Wollman, John Graf and Donald Pettit, based on a prototype first tinkered with by Pettit way back in 2008, while stationed as an astronaut on the International Space Station. In order to serve a beverage in the open air (and without risking runaway droplets) the cup uses a unique shape tailored to the properties of fluid dynamics in low-g, material interaction, capillary flow, and an understanding of molecular attraction in water. 

The result is a bonkers little device that looks like a cross between an orchid and an alien sex toy, but the upshot is hardly comical. What started as a fun application of university math has made room for reconsideration of how fluids are used in microgravity environments, and might even shift future space travel design. Pretty exciting stuff, if you’re into that kind of thing. And if you really are, you can buy a Space Cup of your own and tell people your tea is out of this world.