Creative Space Design

There are very few urban design solutions that address housing the inevitable tide of displaced people that could arise as oceans swell under global warming. Certainly none are as spectacular as this one. The Lilypad, by Vincent Callebaut, is a concept for a completely self-sufficient floating city intended to provide shelter for future climate change refugees. The intent of the concept itself is laudable, but it is Callebaut's phenomenal design that has captured our imagination. Biomimicry was clearly the inspiration behind the design. The Lilypad, which was designed to look like a waterlily, is intended to be a zero emission city afloat in the ocean. Through a number of technologies (solar, wind, tidal, biomass), it is envisioned that the project would be able to not only produce it's own energy, but be able to process CO2 in the atmosphere and absorb it into its titanium dioxide skin. Each of these floating cities are designed to hold approximately around 50,000 people. A mi

At the same time as clients demand an increased level of responsiveness, knowledge workers demand “consonance” in the workplace. They approach potential employers looking for a “fit” with their values and lifestyles. In a buoyant economy, they can afford to be selective-and intolerant of “dissonance.” The built environment gives form to consonance and provides its framework. To keep pace with social and technological changes, design professionals must learn to see that framework as one that changes with time-and therefore design in four dimensions. The current rate of technological change suggests that designers will face considerable pressure to practice with time in mind. Both the container and the contained-“structure and stuff,” as Stewart Brand put it in How Buildings Learn-change over time, but at different rates of speed.11 The trends of mass customization and congruence suggest that settings will change frequently, which puts pressure on the rest to facilitate the change. This

Architectural and interior design consists of the manipulation of many interrelated elements including space, form, structure, light, texture, and color. Unfortunately, the one ingredient in the inter pendent mix of design elements that is most often overlooked or left as an afterthought is color. To avoid this, approach color selection as an integral part of the designer rather than something which is applied superficially after the fact. Effective color design does not need to add any cost to interior renovations or construction: it is simple matter of planning ahead. The best approach is to look at all the paint colors and other materials as a single color composition. The most successful interior color design is responsive and appropriate to the design goals. Some of the important roles color can play include 1. Setting the emotional tone or ambiance of a space 2. Focusing or diverting attention 3. Modulating the space to feel larger or smaller 4. Breaking up and defining the space