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Natural Curves: Organic ‘Wood Wave’ Floating Home Design if (isPaidRef_jswsa() || isSearchRef_jswsa() || isRef_jswsa('weburbanist.com|webecoist.com|gajitz.com')) {write_jswsa('googbanner');} else if (isRef_jswsa('dornob.com|stumbleupon.com')) {} else if (document.referrer == "") {} else if (isOld_jswsa(jswsaDate,10)) {write_jswsa('googbanner');} else {} Outside and in, from the curved wood cladding to the  swooping wooden ceilings, this undulating houseboat design by Robert Oshatz evokes the dynamic movement of the river water on which it floats. The series of intersecting and overlapping organic forms creates a sense of constant movement that is clearly inspired by surrounding waves but likewise reflects the never-still nature of the structure itself. More than just a clever aesthetic trick, however, this repeated form also serves a series of architectural functions, from defining interior volumes to letting in exterior natural light at both ends and along the roof line. The repetitive use of wood both inside and out also enhances the nautical theme of the home, giving residents the abstract sense that they are within a curved sea-faring wooden vessel as much as they are floating inside of a house. Wide-open views of the water are balanced by beautiful but privacy-protecting wood-shingled surfaces on the dock side of the structure.

Remnants of the Biosphere Photographer Noah Sheldon got in touch the other week with a beautiful series of photos documenting the decrepit state of Biosphere 2, a semi-derelict bio-architectural experiment in the Arizona desert. [Image: Biosphere 2, photographed by Noah Sheldon].The largest sealed environment ever created, constructed at a cost of $200 million, and now falling somewhere between David Gissen's idea of subnature—wherein the slow power of vegetative life is unleashed "as a transgressive animated force against buildings"—and a bioclimatically inspired Dubai, Biosphere 2 even included its own one million-gallon artificial sea.