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In troubled economic times, there is only one high rise office tower being built in Brisbane. So enamoured was the client, GPT, with the design by Cox Rayner Architects that he decided to proceed on the basis that the building's aesthetic, environmental and workplace benefits would lure prospective tenants. The tower's structure is organic in that the columns twist and turn up its 45 storey height, emerging through the roof to form a tree-like canopy. The resulting filigree of structure reflects the city's two iconic Fig Trees in the building's forecourt, but the rationale for the concept was initially pragmatic. This was because the tower is being built over a wide existing loading dock such that there were few points on the ground where columns could land. Cox Rayner Architects with their engineers ARUP devised a structural system where loads could be gradually transferred diagonally down to the land predominantly on one side of the site, avoiding the dock. The concept evolved with several attributes. The columns in the 'web' are abnormally thin at 600 - 400 wide, maximising views to the river. Less concrete is required than in conventional typologies entailing reduced embodied energy in construction. Overall the tower is currently measured to be above 6 star rating under the Green Building Council of Australia's Green Star Design Rating System. The tower has a corner services core that also maximises the availability of views to the office areas, with the structural frame wrapping around the remaining volume inside a glass skin with operable blinds responding to solar orientations. The ground plane is designed as a public thoroughfare space linking the city to its main ferry terminal, such that the foyers are at the first level above. This design enriches the sense of lightness and space for which the building will become renowned

Japanese architect Toyo Ito and b720 Arquitectos of Spain have completed two adjacent towers in Barcelona containing a hotel and offices.

Bedfordshire office Nicolas Tye Architects set about building this new studio for themselves when the company outgrew a space in the director's home.

Brooklyn office Caliper Studio have completed an apartment in New York that features a very complicated stainless steel staircase. Called Genetic Stair, the fifteen-foot staircase has Corian treads supported by a structure of diagonal rods.

The design for the Kaohsiung Cruise Terminal by Emergent is interior driven, biasing building section, and interior spatial effects. The goal is to create a cavernous space which will appear simultaneously massive and lightweight. The project oscillates between volume and surface, avoiding the limitations of exclusively surface-based and volume-based architectures. The Port Services Center, made up of string of hard elliptical volumes, is pushed down into the soft bubble of the Ferry Terminal, so that exterior skin becomes interiorized. This nesting action allows for functional division between the programmatic elements while creating complex interior formations. While the Ferry Terminal is oriented towards the inside, the Port Services Center- consisting primarily of offices- is oriented towards the outside, with views out to the city and the ocean. It is a building within a building. The skin of the Ferry terminal is constructed out of transparent ETFE membrane and hard fiber-composite Armor Plates. These Armor Plates operate as both structure and ornament. They create stiff zones in the skin where the membrane can be affixed. Ultimately, the construction system is a hybrid of shell and membrane construction types- what we now call Shell-branes. A pattern of color flows over the armor, both responding to underlying formal features, and at times becoming graphic. Similar to a butterfly wing, coloration follows competing criteria, such as structural and optical pattern logics. Gradient effects begin to blur boundaries between opacities and transparencies, creating unifying visual crossovers between the two systems of the Shell-brane. The open space to east and west of the buildable area is designed as new kind of park, which does infrastructural work as well as supporting the picturesque. It is an organic machine, where energy is cultivated and grown inside algae photo-bioreactor pods. Using sunlight as well as artificial light at night, these pods gener

Article focuses on fragmentary mural painted by Bruno Schulz for the children of an SS officer who was protecting him. Slideshow shows some of the remnants of the painting.

Article about Bruno Schulz that begins with the mural he painted for the children of an SS officer who was protecting him but expands to include more of his literature and art.

Your are looking at Crystal Carving - Ocean Jasper Zuni bear. Zuni bear is a symbol of Zuni people which serves a ceremonial purpose for their creators. The bear symbolizes their guardian and has the power to heal and transform passions into true wisdom. Characteristics associated with bears include strength, courage, adaptability, healing and spiritual communion. Zuni bear can also guide introspection and self-reflection. Made from quality ocean jasper raw stone, this zuni bear has pale blue coat with pink dots. It is great for use as home decorations, they are also quite appropriate office decor. Besides, it is great as gifts to your loved ones as a lucky charm.

Your are looking at Crystal Carving - Ocean Jasper Zuni bear. Zuni bear is a symbol of Zuni people which serves a ceremonial purpose for their creators. The bear symbolizes their guardian and has the power to heal and transform passions into true wisdom. Characteristics associated with bears include strength, courage, adaptability, healing and spiritual communion. Zuni bear can also guide introspection and self-reflection. Made from quality ocean jasper raw stone, this zuni bear has green coat with pink dots. It is great for use as home decorations, they are also quite appropriate office decor. Besides, it is great as gifts to your loved ones as a lucky charm.