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China's twelfth 5-Year Plan (released in 2011) addresses the country's rapid urbanisation by including a target to deliver 36 million new social housing units by 2015. Shenzhen in southern China, located in the Pearl River Delta in the Guangdong Province, is one of the fastest growing cities in the world. It has a large stake in this project and is aiming to deliver 240,000 new units which will house approximately 800,000 people. At the vanguard of China's economic reform, Shenzhen has grown 400 times its original size in the last 40 years, following high levels of investment by the government and through mass migration of workers from all over China. The city has a huge transient working population comprising mostly young people, in particular single women. Most residents come to the city from various parts of the country, leaving family, friends and other support networks. Shenzhen is rapidly running out of space, with only limited land available to house future population growth.

Due to its incredible benefits, both physical and mental, the connection between interior and exterior architecture has increased in popularity. This is especially relevant in neutral climes, where temperatures tend not to be too extreme, especially in terms of the colder months. Here in Australia, the inside/outside design element is often essential, as our mostly warmer climate allows us to embrace the fact that open-air spaces work best. Landscape architecture plays into this reality, and is now really finding its relevance as we move further into outdoor spaces. One design located in Melbourne is showing the power of landscape architecture in creating community spaces without walls.

Approach and skill sets are always unique. We profile a design firm that is spreading its wings at a fast pace with its idiosyncratic appeal. Read here and share with us other such examples...Click on the link to read more>>

Inherent respect for our heritage can only enhance contemporary lifestyle. Agree? Read about the recent refurbishment in Grade I St. Pancras and leave us your views...Click on the link to read more>>

'Form follows Energy' as natural processes are replicated via digital coding to accomplish accurate and desired results. Read about the Endesa pavilion prototype and give us your feedback...Click on the link to read more>>

Architecture has traditionally incorporated a number of fields in its complex processes. From mathematics to the arts, architecture involves a highly varied skill base. But one area that has not been incorporated into architecture is biology. Until now. In recent years, the correlation between biology and architecture has aligned and the two are increasingly become more intertwined. In light of increasing carbon emissions and the rise of the green building sector, architects are becoming increasingly more innovative in their design schemes.

Australian architecture has had an impressive start to 2012, already boasting a globally recognised industry award. The architectural firm in question is Australia's own HASSELL who have been ranked as the number one practice in all of Australasia at this year's BD World Architecture survey. Managing Director of the firm Robert Blackhouse indicated that the achievement is a testament to the works, both nationally and internationally, that HASSELL has been producing.

Sustainable architecture and classrooms of the future have finally come together in an Australian green building concept that is out of this world. The latest renderings of what is arguably one of world's most impressive sustainable educational facilities have been released and already they are causing a stir in both architectural and green building fields. Created by architectural firm LAVA, the aptly named 'classroom of the future' is a design concept that sees the creation of a prefabricated, relocatable learning environment, which incorporates innovative and clever design features.

A Melbourne school is creating great industry waves for its mix of stunning architecture and environmentally responsible principles. Acting as an incredible promotion of green thinking to both the young students attending and the wider community, is the junior building at Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School (PEGS). While the striking building, transformed by architectural firm McBride Charles Ryan is completely passive in its design, an absolute feat in its own right, it is its aesthetic that truly stands out. Oftentimes in green building projects a building's visual appeal is ignored in order to focus on the sustainable building aspects. While environmental responsibility may be more important than design greatness, it is incredibly positive to see such a prime example of a culmination of these ideas executed so elegantly.

Helsinki's Vantaa airport is taking the saying 'making yourself at home' to heart with the interior design for their newest travellers' lounge. No matter how hard airport designers try to make these international, heavy trafficked areas romantic and luxurious, there is no doubting the dread that most of us feel on a 6 hour lay over or extended visit. While there can be no denying the luxuriousness of this interiorly designed space, what the designers have cleverly done is steer away from the clinical coolness of traditional airport lounges and thrown a knowing look back towards creature comforts. The aptly named 'Almost @ home' lounge features interior aspects that have been chosen to most correctly reflect a Finnish, or any, home.

When moving towards a sustainability goal in the architecture and construction industry, eco-technologies are often the first choice that builders and designers make. While these additions are successful in decreasing, or even eliminating, excess carbon emissions expelled during the construction or running stages of a building's life, there are much simpler organic processes that can be used to simply decrease a reliance on brown energy use. Orientation Planning is a prime example of a simple, zero technologically driven sustainable building concept. Through the careful positioning of a building, its reliance upon technologies, green or otherwise, to control the interior climate can be dramatically reduced, or even eliminated entirely.

A constantly ticking brain cohabiting with a continually seeking mind makes the body agile and inspired. Profiling Ar. Jim Olson has been like meeting 'dynamism' in person and understanding that where vocation is passion, there is no delineation between the man and his work...Click on the link to read more>>

Instil a sense of pride in your work, says Ar. K. R. Jaisim as he addresses architecture aspirants in a brief focussed interview. Click on the link to read more and leave us your views...

Jaisim Project - How important is it to be contextual in architecture? Ar. Jaisim's ongoing project is one such embodiment that calls for holistic perception of the structure per se. Read here and comment...

In the architectural and building sectors, we have explored, promoted and dissected the fact that we are currently battling greenwash so much, that we may in fact be greenwashing the aforementioned greenwash. Indeed the term is so readily bandied about, that it no longer makes sense and is therefore responded to as a null and void sentiment. As confusing as that may seem, it holds the key to the reason that we are stuck in a vicious industry cycle that is unfortunately blocking the promotion of some incredible, and highly sustainable, built projects. Due to a confusion and misrepresentation of certain green and sustainable buildings and features, a number of these incredible designs, and their built forms, are being lost in the jungle of false green advertisement. One incredible design that, more often than not, does not receive the deserved appreciation is that of the humble Earthship.

One major green belt that has seen the devastating results of deforestation is the Amazon jungle. From 1991 until 2001 the total area cleared jumped from 415,000 km2 to 587,000 km2, proving that this massive, unsustainable deforestation effort has not been just a thing of the past. In fact, it was only last year that deforestation figures slowed to their lowest numbers yet. For many in the green building industry, that is how they would like it to continue. Offering to lead this conservation effort is London-based architectural firm Marks Barfield. Who have impressed architecture and environmental communities worldwide with their £6.4m proposal for a research centre in the Amazon, which will include a central, tree-shaped observation tower and 6 miles of tree top canopy walkways. Due to the nature and function of this tower, in addition to the limitations that the rural, fragile Brazilian environment holds, a sustainable building ideology forms the foundation of the proposal.

London Gatwick Airport is one of the aviation industry's early adopters of wide-ranging cloud services for its core IT needs. Leading the charge is Gatwick's CIO Michael Ibbitson, who has been pushing to reduce the airport's reliance on centralised data centres by outsourcing to the cloud.

Architecture and fashion have a long standing relationship; but actually incorporating the textile weave in a building façade is another thing. SPARK's 'pleated' and 'woven' façade for the award-winning mixed-use development Jing Mian Xin Cheng in Beijing demonstrates that depth of experience need not be forgotten despite the speed of the central city's expansion. 'Pleats' of perforated aluminium sheeting and a 'weave' of rippling windows resolve a variety of practical issues, while referencing a textile market that formerly operated on the site. Check it out here…

Building and landscape architect, Ajay Suryawanshi, shares his valuable insights on developing and maintaining landscaped areas during the monsoons. Check it out here...