Although Peter Zumthor’s success is undisputed in the architecture world, it was interesting he would tackle a residence for Living Architecture as his past works have gracefully unfolded after years of development. For Zumthor’s project, entitled A Secular Retreat, the architect employs his signature strategy of using nature as a source of relaxation. The hill-top retreat is a quiet and passive design, truly taking the backseat to the surroundings. The home is designed to exploit the beauty of its location, capitalizing on views and providing perfect places for reflection. The home, Zumthor’s first project in the UK, is the perfect residence of the Living Architecture projects to visit for some peaceful downtime.

More images after the break.

Here’s another great time lapse video from Seppe, this time walking us through the German Pavilion in Shanghai designed by Schmidhuber + Kaindl GmbH (more Shanghai coverage here). Entitled Balancity, the pavilion is designed by Lennart Wiechell and at 6,000 m2, it is the country’s largest structure at any exposition. The building’s geometric mass was conceived as a three dimensional sculpture and the form wraps certain spaces which showcase different aspects of Germany. As you can see in the video, the pavilion includes a central energy source, a factory-like section, an opera and cultural section, and even a park. The areas show Germany’s technological progressions and products meant to help solve urbanization problems, and visitors slowly glide past certain installations on moving walkways. Unlike other countries’ pavilions that seem to work off of one cohesive theme, the German pavilion seems much more “busy” – it is a conglomeration of many different ideas and products with lots to see at each turning corner. What do you think of Balancity?

Check out other videos Seppe has shared with us like his British Pavilion time lapse or his Denmark Pavilion video. Full list of credits after the break.

Jeffrey Pongonis’ blog, MSI Design – Beyond the Studio, is chock full of urban issues ranging from new green initiatives to schematic designs for new developments. What attracted our attention was the strategic plan for Columbus Ohio, an initiative to restore Downtown’s vitality by building upon the area’s success from the 2002 Strategic Business Plan for Downtown Columbus.

More about the plan and more images after the break.

When five Belgian architects, Axel Cailteux, Celine Hautfenne, Delphine Termote, Amelie Schweisthal and Julie Neuwels, created MetamorphOse, the firm became an outlet for the young minds to rethink architecture at various scales. “We use, as architects in different firms and with different centers of interest, our combined experiences of the city and the existing or future urban assets to put forward contemporary, sustainable or ephemeral interventions,” explained the architects. For their landscape installation in Beziers, France (which was created for Technilum for the festival “Heureuse Coincidence”), the architects have not created a new building volume or designed a large scale construction, but rather, “a simple gesture” that is just enough to make an impact on the way the space is perceived.

More about the installation after the break.

We just found this short video by French architects, COMCECI. The video provides a snapshot of their project “Mobîlot,” an installation set in the public streets of the city that is comprised of “mobile terraces” on a dis-mountable metal structure the size of a parking space. Closed, the structure provides a quick resting place for passersby, and open, the wooden inner furnishings are the perfect place to enjoy a bite to eat with others. Enjoy!

As promised, we are starting our coverage of the Living Architecture houses beginning with MVRDV’s Balancing Barn. We first shared this project awhile back on AD, and now, since the home’s completion, we have new interior shots of the rent-able residence.

More about the home and more interior images after the break.

A few weeks ago, we shared Tim Stephens’ urban farm model – an organized set of plots for people to grow their own food – and, today, we feature his Fakro House. For this small residence, Stephens incorporated the local vernacular into a modernist retreat in the Whangaripo valley. By acknowledging the site’s importance, in terms of views and ecological values, Stephens’ design is a smart fit for the New Zealand location.

More about the project and more images after the break.

As we reported earlier last week, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson’s newest Apple store (and China’s first!) opened on July 10. For the past five years, photographer Roy Zipstein has been documenting the stores, traveling to America, Europe, Asia and even Australia to highlight the artistry of the sleek structures. Similar to how it takes a certain kind of architect to manifest Apple’s aesthetic and technological philosophy in built-form, it takes a certain kind of photographer to capture that essence on film. Zipstein commented via Bernstein&Andriulli, “The Apple Stores are so beautifully designed, inside and out. It’s been very interesting to witness the design process evolve over the last few years, through the use of different materials such as glass, stainless steel and stone, and the evolving interpretation of the interior space. Having the architects present at some of these shoots and being able to exchange thoughts with them has been an added bonus for me.”

We’re excited to share Zipstein’s latest photographs from Shanghai! And, be sure to see our previous set of images thanks to Flicker user Lesh51.

When the Chicago Magazine shared Robert Sharoff’s piece on the late Harry Weese with us, it piqued our interest and we began to took a closer look at the life and work of this talented architect. As Sharoff notes, at Weese’s prime, he was the leading architect of Chicago – a man focused on historic preservation and focused on manifesting Miesian principles in a new light. Sharoff’s and our deeper look into Weese’s work is an attempt to infuse the architect’s reputation with positivity, not letting his architectural achievements become clouded by his later struggle with alcohol.

More about Weese’s life and projects after the break.

On June 24, Zaha Hadid was honored as the UNESCO Artist for Peace, an award bestowed upon a person who promotes the values of the organization, specifically by creating the conditions for dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples, based upon respect for commonly shared values. “The arts have always bridged cultural, economic and social divides; teaching us that disparate worlds are not mutually exclusive, but rather layered upon each other and profoundly interlinked. I am honored to join the Artists for Peace, furthering UNESCO’s important message and programs,” said Hadid.

More about the award after the break.

Wing Yi Hui and Lap Ming Wong, two students from Hong Kong studying at The Oslo School of Architecture and Design, have shared their wooden pavilion with us. The performance-oriented design studio, under the guidance of Professors Michael U. Hensel, Defne Sunguroğlu Hensel and Dr. Birger R. Sevaldson, gave the students the opportunity to explore the performance of the wood and create a “customization possibility” within the constraints of a “platform of standardization.” The designers explained, “By understanding the performance of material, and allowing it to perform its intrinsic properties, innovative and sustainable methodology of architectural production could be emerged as a natural response. Deformation of wood due to moisture is no longer a nuisance but a benefit to fabrication.”

Check out their process work and even more about their project after the break.

This year’s theme for the London Festival of Architecture, “The Welcoming City”, inspired Superblue Design to create an installation where all could sit together to enjoy the space, but also take an active role in making that place. Entitled Giant Knitting Nancy, the project is a metaphor for the “interwoven cultures, spaces and places that help make the London a distinctive place.” By collaborating with sculptor Dan Preston and jewelry designer Holly Packer, the team created a large-scale knitted structure which doubles as an “interactive architectural seating unit.”

More about the installation after the break.

A few days ago, we shared C. F. Møller Architects‘ winning entry for the Kristiansund Opera and Culture Center entitled Kulturkvartalet. This project shares its joint first place prize with Oslo based architecture and design office Space Group + London based Brisac Gonzalez. The team of Space Group and Brisac Gonzales have designed a 15, 000 m2 opera and cultural house with a 600-seat auditorium, library, cultural facilities, restaurants and a youth center. ”Our strategy is threefold: a full refurbishment of the building skin, an upgrading of the structure, and an extension of the top floor with roof terrace. The ground floor is conceived as a living room, with spaces for music, newspapers, studying, playing. The café opens graciously to Kongensplass – an urban garden,” explained the team.

More images and more about the winning proposal after the break.

With all the projects we feature, it becomes second nature to envision yourself occupying that space if not only to critique its success, but also to merely imagine what it would be like to live there. But, what if, instead of just daydreaming about living in a certain residence designed by your favorite architect, you could actually spend a week or two in a house designed by Peter Zumthor, or JVA, or even MVRDV? Living Architecture, a new not-for-profit organization, offers the chance to rent houses in different areas of Britain for a vacation starting at £20 per person per night. ”We are dedicated to introducing you to the best of contemporary architecture, as well as to curating unique and enjoyable holidays,” explained the organization.

A sculptural installation by VeeV Design, entitled Field Rupture, rests upon the courtyard of a 1950s modern house in Berkeley Hills, California. Since the installation is applied over the topological surface, the shifting ground conceptually pushes the surface vertically, and, as the name implies, this action causes the surface to “rupture.” Using a laser cutter to produce the digital fabrication, the sheet metal formation seems to burst from the ground as a “figure of two planes pushing against one another.”

Check out this quick video Jeff Durkin of Breadtruck Films produced while working for the San Diego design+build firm blokhaus about an experimental concept for shipping container architecture.

The film highlights the theoretical building’s construction technique, specifically how the shipping container module can be subtracted to create space.    What begins as a solid mass is soon defined by the carved out voids that become the main interior spaces.

Be sure to watch Durkin’s other films he has shared with us here.

Back in 2003, young Dutch architect Rem D. Koolhaas (nephew of “the” Rem Koolhaas) teamed with seventh generation shoemaker Galahad Clark to launch United Nude, a stylish shoe brand rooted in conceptual design, elegance and innovation. Since then, the brand has been quite successful, selling in over 35 countries, and recently, Koolhaas opened a flagship store in Shanghai. Similar to New York’s Fifth Avenue, or Paris’ Champs-Élysées, the store is situated in Shanghai’s prestigious retail strip and the flashy design draws all the attention to the shoes.

More about the store design after the break.

Serero Architects’ winning design for a library and auditorium for the University of Amiens incorporates a wooden “smart skin” that controls the internal space ambiance and frames views. Resting in the middle of the campus, the new building will “constitute a central place for exchanges and meeting around technologies as well as the catalyst of an intense campus social life” explained the architect.