“Burning Calories” is a collaboration between Henry Hargreaves and Amirah Kassem. All images courtesy of Henry Hargreaves.

The traditional way to determine the calorie content of a given food was to burn it; a (kilo)calorie is the amount of energy it takes to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by one degree Celcius. “Burning Calories,” a collaboration between photographer Henry Hargreaves and Flour Shop baker Amirah Kassem, takes this science to a new level, by literally setting food aflame.

Kassem baked cakes to look like common American fast foods; these were then ignited using a lighter and photographed. As a commentary on the Great Obesity Epidemic, the piece substitutes the body with metallic foil, subliminally holding up a mirror to our eating habits. “Burning Calories” also highlights the waste inherent in our ever greater consumption of food. More photos after the jump!

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In Paul Catherall‘s illustrations of London’s famous buildings and landmarks, the city appears as a collection of two-dimensional shapes, rich hues, sharp lines, and shadowy gradients (see “Telecom and Barbican” above). Both older buildings, like Big Ben, and newer structures, such as the Shard, are streamlined into an aesthetic that combines the design of postwar poster art with an appreciation for Cézanne-like semi-abstraction.

With clients ranging from the Tate Modern to the Queen’s Jubilee celebration, Catherall’s works show a myriad of snapshots from across the city, all executed with craftsmanship and elegance. Catherall talked to us about the inspiration behind each of his drawings, which are created entirely by hand using high-quality ink and acid-free paper in a printmaking technique known as linocut. Click through to his beautiful illustrations of London!

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Semantic satiation is a psychological phenomenon in which a spoken word or phrase temporarily sounds meaningless to the listener due to a steady stream of repetition. Kind of like when your dear old grandmother (bless her heart), compliments your good looks on repeat. While well-intentioned, the broken record reiteration starts to sound a little hollow. Thankfully this strange occurrence only happens in semantics, because the highly methodical repetition seen in Luigi Bonaventura‘s photographs feels anything but meaningless.

In fact, it is the hyper-repetition of pastel walls, closed windows, and not-so-private balconies that makes Bonaventura’s latest series ”Behind the Edge Jesolo Beach, Venice“ so enchanting. His images of vacant hotel façades embrace the unexpected power in redundancy. Bonaventura tells us that his photos are in no way a critique of uniformity; rather the homogeneity frees the artist to translate his passion for architecture into a captivating aesthetic. Click through to see more!

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Standing tall among the treetops in a forested area of Portland, Oregon, the Wilkinson Residence feels like a refined, playful treehouse for adults (a marvel that we at Architizer know well). To mitigate the site’s steep slope, Robert Harvey Oshatz perched the home’s living areas on top of a pedestal-like wood shingle foundation that gives the residences the illusion of living in the surrounding canopy. When viewing the forest through the large perimeter windows, it looks as though you have left any trace of city-life behind. Click through for more!

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All images by Garrison Architects.

Among the many effects of Hurricane Sandy, the lack of suitable beach facilities was among the more symbolic. Destroyed bathrooms, changing rooms, and lifeguard stations would have a major dampening effect on the economic and cultural livelihood of New York City’s coastal recreation areas such as Rockaway Beach and Coney Island, as well as many Staten Island beaches.

Luckily, Garrison Architects and the New York City government are coming to the rescue with a series of modular beach facilities to be deployed around May 25. The pavilions, 35 in total, are being manufactured in Pennsylvania and will be delivered as single pieces to their respective sites. Conforming in size to interstate trucking limits, the pavilions will house comfort stations, lifeguard stations, and offices for Parks Enforcement Patrol and Maintainence and Operations Staff.

Built on pre-installed concrete piers, the pavilions will sit at or above FEMA’s revised Advisory Base Flood Elevations (ABFEs). This in addition to the selected material palette will ensure the pavilions’ resistence to future storms.

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Finally, a cutting-edge stylus for the iPad that feels so natural, you’d think you are drawing on a real sketchpad! Recently released, the Jot Touch 4 Stylus by Adonit is a professional tool that allows digital artists to create quality work away from the confines of a desk. To provide a more intuitive, seamless experience, the Jot Touch 4 takes full advantage of Bluetooth 4.0 and integrates palm rejection and pressure sensitivity with the Jot’s patented precision tip. How easy-to-use is the Jot Touch 4? Consider this: I (a blogger!) was able to sketch Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye on my iPad. (And it didn’t turn out too shabbily, either.) Click through to read more, and see my jot drawings of the Villa Savoye.

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You’ve heard of smartphones being able to control everything from your favorite DVR recordings to home security systems, but did you ever think that your pocket gadget could manage your entire house? Designed by Justin Capra Foundation for Invention and Sustainable Technologies (FITS) in Romania, the Soleta ZeroEnergy One is a tiny modular home that achieves 45% energy efficiency by incorporating high-tech smartphone-ready features.

Powered by whatever renewable energy sources available, the concept uses a climate and ventilation monitoring and managing system (KNX) that can be controlled and monitored remotely using your iPhone or similar devices. Now that’s innovation! Click through for more. 

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Photos: Kollision

It’s a tried and true equation: floorplates plus an interesting facade can provide architectural gold even in the most trying of circumstances. The newest site for putting this idea to the test is downtown Copenhagen, where a reconstruction and revamping of the Confederation of Danish Industry building places a vibrant digital screen across the street from the City Hall and next to the entrance to Tivoli Gardens.

The project, a collaboration between Transform, Martin Professional, and Kollision, involved close collaboration between city officials and the design team in order to create a better fit with its urban surroundings. The screen, fully programmable, changes along its diagonal grid, alternating between vibrant rainbow graphics, numbered displays (presumably of date and time), and abstract linework.

The effect is surprisingly elegant, the designers somehow managing to reconcile contextuality and bombast. Robert Venturi, though, would still call it a decorated shed. More photos after the jump!

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All images by FIXd Architecture

The problem with sustainable design? Sometimes the architects can forget the “design” part, letting the means for achieving sustainability define a project’s aesthetics. Since the late 1960s, this kind of structural and technical exhibitionism has become a widely practiced metaphor for the building-as-metabolic-system. The not-so-hidden agenda, of course, is to display the technical proficiency of a given architect and to make obvious the immense array of complex systems any designer must manage.

The latest example of this is the Mo Ventus house, by FIXd Architecture. This conceptual zero-net-energy, luxury residence—thus far realized only in digital renderings—can be built almost anywhere, unbound by climate or existing infrastructure.

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High Court, Chandigarh, 1955.

Le Corbusier’s foray into urban planning for the city of Chandigarh, India, was perhaps the most realized example of modern city planning in the 20th century. The architect was given a tabula rasa to execute an anthropomorphic plan, hierarchical city grid, and geometric structures of raw, unfinished concrete.

The outcomes of Chandigarh are still widely debated by architectural experts. However, now you have a chance to get a closer look at Corbu’s iconic Indian projects yourself! On display at agnès b. Galerie Boutique in Manhattan from May 10 to June 30, “Lucien Hervé: Le Corbusier in India” provides a more intimate look at the godfather of modernism and his works in India, featuring rare signed vintage and modern prints by Lucien Hervé, Corbusier’s “official” photographer for most of his career. More after the jump!

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