The New Taipei City Museum of Art should propose a new paradigm for celebrating art in Taipei, one that brings lifestyle, art, recreation and education together to celebrate a vibrant cultural identity for the community. The existing park located at the meeting of the Yingge and Dahan rivers within which the Museum sits, is one that immediately reveals a dynamic juxtaposition between the constructed nature (the park environment) and the density and “urban” scale of the surrounding hillside context.

via: yankodesign

If you love comic books and cartoons (it’s ok if you’re nodding your head and you’re over the age of 10), check out this sweet museum. Dutch studio MVRDV recently won a competition to design the Comic and Animation Museum in Hangzhou, China. With a population of 6.4 million inhabitants, Hangzhou is the capital of China’s animation industry, and MVDRV’s new museum pays tribute to its rising relevance and popularity.

Via: mmm

Located at Shimura in Japan, Emmanuelle Moureaux once again reconsidered the design interior and external of architecture Sugamo Shinkin Bank. While exploiting the colors of the rainbow in layers, this building gives a refreshing aspect thanks to intelligently thought spaces.

[Source: fubiz]

The First Crescent is a project by SAOTA – Stefan Antoni Olmesdahl Truen Architects, a young, committed and well structured firm of architects based in Cape Town & Johannesburg with a number of very exciting national and international projects. The First Crescent is a minimalist home located in Camps Bay – South Africa. The owners desire was to design a dramatic and memorable house…they certainly did that, the place is amazing.

[Source: abduzeedo]

Los Angeles-based EMERGENT was awarded first prize in a competition to design China’s 2013 National Games Arena. The complex measures over 400,00 sq ft (37,000 sq m) and includes a civic recreation center, swimming arena, soccer fields, basketball, tennis, badminton, and volleyball courts.

[Source: mmm]

Designed by German architectural firm GMP, the Hanoi Museum was conceived as an inverted pyramid. The museum seems to float, while a park appears to protrude beneath the building. The landscape is beautiful, with water basins and large areas for outdoor exhibits in the style of old Hanoi.

[Source: mmm]

Are you willing to shell out $25,000,000 for a house? If so, this is what you could gun for. Sprawled on 11,000 square feet, the Razor house commands mind-boggling views of sea and nature. Designed by Wallace E. Cunningham, (one of AD top 100), the house sports 4 bedrooms, 6 baths, a fabulous two level guest house and features private access to Black’s Beach. Maybe it is the floor to ceiling glass or the look of that garage, but it definitely it conjures up visions of the Iron Mans’ House.

[Source: home-designing]

A multiplex cinema, six maxi-screens and the sea stretching out before you on a summer morning. This isn’t a Jacques Cousteau film. It’s the ocean on the coastal outskirts of Cape Town saying good morning to you.

[Source: lanciatrendvisions]

Amidst the lush environment of Singapore, Guz Architects have built a home that engages the local environment in almost every aspect of its design.  The Cluny House is a stunning modern courtyard home centered around a living natural pool with water plants, moss, ferns and trees that arise from its own calming waters.

[Source: thecoolist]

The Lookout House is a project by Ike Kligerman Barkley Architects, a 25-person firm of architects, interior designers, and supporting staff that offers both architectural and interior design services in an established, diverse, design-oriented practice. Located in Fairfield County, Connecticut this pyramid house was renovated to erase the aging, brown vestiges of the 1979 original. A new arm stretches to the east, housing the master bedroom suite and family room on the lower pool level. A sustainable project, this house integrates geothermal heating and cooling systems, renewable materials like bamboo floors and eco-friendly paints and finishes.

[Source: abduzeedo]

The Colosseum – Bucherest, Romania.

The project comprises of a 54 hectre site and includes 200,000m2 of mixed-use development, containing retail, restaurants, leisure facilities and a hotel. When complete, the scheme will be Central and Eastern Europe’s largest commercial development with a total value of € 350 million.

Conceptualized by Beijing-based architect Chris Prechteck, the National Library of Austria houses its core exhibition hall underground. The spiraling structure features a mosaic form of crystal-like excisions along its body, allowing natural daylight to filter through to the interior. The design is an extension of a bordering park and contains a number of cultural facilities including a smaller multi-functional hall, creative studios, a restaurant, and shops.

[Source: mmm]

The Villa Amanzi by Architect firm Original Vision Studio is a stunning modern vacation residence located in the exclusive Cape Sol on the West coast of Phuket, Thailand. Original Vision Studio specializes in leisure architecture throughout southeast Asia.

[Source: homedsgn]

El Economista reports (English)that renowned British architect Norman Foster is hard at work designing Apple’s new campus in Cupertino.  The 100 acre campus was picked up from HP last month for a measly $300M.

[Source: 9to5mac]

Foster + Partners recently unveiled this design for a museum on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi. Named after UAE founder Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the Zayed National Museum will be dedicated to the history and culture of the country. Because of the Sheikh’s love for falcons, the museum will feature five lightweight steel towers that resemble the wings of the bird. This theme is further celebrated by a gallery devoted to the subject, along with an outdoor arena for live displays with hunting birds.

[Source: mmt]

Designed by Stephen Pimbley, SPARCH’s founder and director, the ambition is to make a unique and exciting retail destination, standing out among its competitors. Mont Kiara is a predominantly residential neighborhood and is very family orientated. This spirit is captured in the design which uses a ‘friendly’ palette of finishes in feel, color and texture.

[Source: archdaily]

Taiwan Tower’s form was inspired by traditional origami, the Eiffel Tower, Taiwan’s diamond industry, and the star, which is part of Taiwan’s flag. The structure stands over 1150 feet (350 meters) tall and includes space for Taichung City Government, leisure and recreational offices, retail and educational centers, and the new Museum of Taichung City Development. It also includes a vertical-axis wind turbine at the very tip of the tower.

[Source: mmt]

thought Dubai and Shanghai had the craziest, most futuristic architecture in the planet. Sorry Taiwan, you and your Taiwan Tower—a 984-foot (300 meter) high structure with mechanized observation platforms that float using helium and propellers—win.

[Source: gizmodo]

“Culture Forest” features an urban park wrapped up inside a building. Powered and naturally lit by the sun, the center is filled with benches, trees, lush vegetation, and places to relax and reflect while looking down at the city. The roof of the building contains a tree-filled courtyard and is covered in solar panels to provide renewable energy for the center.

[Source: MMT]

Welcome to the first digital museum, Adobe has now opened their virtual doors. Showcasing the best of digital media, Adobe has created a place that only lives online called Adobe Museum of Digital Media. Their first exhibit, called Valley, is by Tony Oursler, an American multimedia and installation artist. Seventeen areas form a virtual flowchart which invites the viewer to interact with it.

[Source: MMT]