Documentatie

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5.4 Arhitectura si fenomenele electrice si magnetice.Institutul Central de Biologie, 1985

"Minunea apei" din piramida de la Piteti

La civa pai de centura oraului Piteti, n localitatea Prundu, se poate zri de la deprtare ceva ce seamn cu o ser. Un schelet de metal mbrcat cu geamuri de sticl, numai c are form de piramid. Cine ar construi o ser n form de piramid?

Ideea a venit Mrioarei Glodeanu, un inginer romn nc n activitate, nsrcinat n anii 80 cu construirea unei staii de epurare biologice, pentru ape reziduale. Staia lui Glodeanu folosea, pentru filtrare, nufrul egiptean, planta capabil s fixeze sedimentele. Biomasa rezultat era destinat ngrsrii pmnturilor de la Albota, o comun din judeul Arge.

Mrioara Godeanu, efa unui colectiv de la Institutul Central de Biologie, a folosit ns piramid i pentru alte experimente. Pasionat de piramide, ea a studiat influena acestora asupra creterii plantelor i, potrivit unor mrturii, ar fi folosit piramida pentru unele cercetri n domeniul farmaceutic.

Godeanu locuiete acum la Petroani, unde este angajata unui institut privat de cercetare. ntr-unul dintre puinele interviuri acordate presei, Mrioara Godeanu spunea:

"Am fost ajutat de doi ingineri arhiteci, care au realizat planurile la scara 1:10 fa de piramida lui Keops, respectnd toi parametrii piramidei din Egipt. Cu toate c ulterior ni s-au pus multe piedici, am fost mirat s constat c am fost sprijinit n acea perioad de o serie de personaliti din domeniul politic, oameni foarte pasionai n intimitatea lor de asemenea domenii de cunoatere. Piramida a fost terminat cu bine n 1985.Oficial, ea a fost construit ca staie-pilot de urmrire a aciunii unor organisme (alge, bacterii) asupra apelor uzate, pentru purificarea lor. S-au fcut i multe studii privind fenomenele de cristalizare, de polimerizare a rinilor, studii de germinare rapid, de accelerare a proceselor de cretere. Dar adevrata noastr btlie cu instalaia de la Piteti a fost pentru a demonstra efectul de form (al piramidei) asupra apei. n piramid, apa se energizeaz i ajunge s fie o ap primar, cum sunt apele plate, necontaminate".

The Ecumenical Chapel by AOA Architects Branches Out to AllPublished: Mar 4, 11 References: aoa.fi and blog.reflexdeco.fr The presence or absence of spirituality should not affect the way one perceives the ethereal beauty of the Ecumenical Chapel by AOA Architects. The sanctuarys structure is sculpted into a series of triangular prisms, hollowed out to to an otherwise windowless cave, but endowed with a brilliant arboreal window.Taking inspiration from religions origins in nature, this V-shaped church mimics primitive building methods and the use of untamed trees in architecture. The temples intricate trunk and bough fenestration also reinvents the classic stain-glassed windows found in cathedrals from the Middle Ages onwards. As a whole package, the Ecumenical Chapel by AOA Architects has its roots in bringing together people of all sects of Christianity, making this immaculate project an all-embracing entity.

Architecture With Extreme Safety Measures Built-InPublished: Jan 30, 10 References: korvelo and homeqn If the movie 2012 makes you afraid, if you are concerned about disasters in an apocalyptic situation, if you live in a tsunami-prone landscape, or if you have a paranoid mental disorder, you may be interested in super protective housing from Korvelo.According to Korvelo, the ultimate safe house may be a pyramid. The fully-appointed 5,000-square-foot home has 5 bedrooms, 6 baths, 3 garages, 4 cameras and 4 weapons stations. Construction can be concrete or steel or some combination of the two. No worries about drive-by shootings herethe structure, including the windows, is bulletproof.If a pyramid isnt to your liking, check out the dome, castle, or sphere.

Vesica Piscis TempleHouse

Vesica Piscis Temple HouseThis is a living house built of saplings, thatch, and earth. It focuses and resonates all of the natural energies and generates a bio-energetic healing force . It derives its proportions from Stonehenge, the Giza Pyramid, and the Earth and Moon dimensions. It blends the Chakras, (the bodys energy centers), the I Ching ( the Chinese oracle Book of Changes), cosmic etheric energy, underground streams, sun, wind, water, earth, and fire.

5.1 Arhitectura si fenomenele acustice

Henning Larsen Architects wins invited competition for campus in Roskilde, DenmarkDanish architecture firm Henning Larsen have just won another competition. This time for the Campus Roskilde at the University College Sealand.

click image to enlargeWith the new Campus Roskilde, University College Sealand consolidates its professional bachelors programmes covering social education and social work, health and teaching. PROJECT DETAILSLocation: Roskilde, DenmarkClient: University College SealandGross floor area: 14,000 m2Year of construction: 2010 2012Type of assignment: First prize in international competitionCollaboration: Enemrke og Pedersen, Cowi and Thing & Wain Landscape Architects.HLA TEAMPARTNER IN CHARGE: Peer Teglgaard JeppesenPROJECT LEADER: Michael Soerensen and Viggo HaremstPROJECT MANAGER: Jesper HoibergENERGY CONSULTANT: Michael JoergensenPROJECT TEAM: Sofie Hedin, Andreas Brink, Erik Folke Holm, Emil Skibsted, Greta Lillienau, Blanca Ulzurrun, Ida Bergstrm3D VISULIZATION: Peter Krogtoft/HLA VisualsThe new campus will facilitate dialogue and random meetings and provide the students with a feeling of being part of a manifold university environment beating with one pulse.Campus Roskilde will consist of four square buildings slightly rotated towards each other to shield the area from the motorway and create a more intimate, varied space around the campus square. In this way, a new meeting place is created between the urban quarter of Trekroner and the green areas around RUC. Under the overhang of the main building, a roofed square will open up to the rest of the campus area and create life and a sense of community among the students.Campus Roskilde is characterised by a significant green profile where the rotated position of the buildings will help optimise the energy consumption and makes the buildings adaptable to possible extensions in the future. Henning Larsen

Noise Reduction

Axonometric view of Organization

Site Plan

Entrance Level Plan

Marine Research Center in Bali by Solus4

Fake Hills Megastructure By MAD Architects

It will be enough to hear whats the name of the company that has designed this project and youll realize how incredible this really is.Chinese architecture company MAD Architects has created a conceptual design of a housing complex that should be eventually built in Beihai. The key feature of this incredible megastructure is that it just looks like a few of hills brought together.

The project is named Fake Hills and designers are claiming that it will significantly reduce consumption of energy by allowing natural air and light to filter through the construction.As you can see from photos, it is planned to put in a few of botanical gardens inside this complex. Lets just hope that the designers will find company that is strong enough to ensure financial backup for this colossal complex which, if it was built, will become one of the main touristic attractions in China.

Noise Reducing Walls, Copenhagen Airport

Due to the government requirements concerning noise reduction, Copenhagen Airports has erected a new noise reduction wall between the west office building and the new domestic terminal. A wall of steel and glass was designed at first but it was later converted into an integrated 310 meter long gangway with ISC as client consultants.

The original designed steel and glass wall was shaped as a curved lattice shell steel structure covered with glass to obtain the noise reducing effect. The wall cross section is made up from two opposing curved lattice shells that resemble the shape of an airplane wing. Each of the curved lattice steel shells is built up using rectangular hollow sections in a rectangular mesh pattern at a 45 degree angle to horizontal level.

Statically the wall is fixed at ground level to a pile supported concrete foundation. The two curved faces interact structurally by transferring bending and shear forces by moment carrying transverse rods.

The unique joint systems Space-X developed by ISC, which also was been used successfully on the space lattice construction above the Tivoli shopping arcade at the airport, was recommended for assembling the steel joints. The completely invisible steel joints combine maximum structural strength and effectiveness integrated in the profiles giving no hints whatsoever of bolts and knots.

Noise AttenuationYour Path: EastLink > Environmental Mgt > Noise Attenuation Noise Attenuation on EastLinkThe Victorian Government requires that ConnectEast achieves noise attenuation of 63dB(A)L10(18hr) for residential buildings along EastLink, which is consistent with the VicRoads Traffic Noise Reduction Policy.This requirementis set out in the EastLink Concession Deed and ConnectEast has invested many millions of dollars constructing noise walls and mounds along the length of EastLink to meet the requirements. More than 13,000 noise wall panels, ranging in height from three to eleven metres, have been installed along the length of EastLink. Acoustic specialists undertook extensive noise modelling and testing to determine the location and height of noise barriers. The height of noise walls is influenced by a number of factors, including: Road design (height, width, depth of cuttings etc) Traffic volume and vehicle type Speed limit Distance to nearby buildings Ground topography In most instances, barriers are placed as close to the motorway as possible to minimise the impact of traffic noise on residential areas. Types of Noise Barriers Noise barriers adhere to the overall visual themes for EastLink which are based on elements of the natural environment along the motorways alignment. These themes were previously applied to the award-winning noise walls built for the Eastern Freeway extension. Four types of noise barriers have been incorporated into EastLinks distinctive urban design: Pre-cast concrete panels The concrete panels comprise two typesa fractured pattern and a rock textured pattern in either a charcoal-pigmented concrete or off-white pigmented concrete. Acrylic Transparent acrylic panels have been installed on bridges with smaller sheets of acrylic installed in concrete and acrylic composite noise walls. Orange and green acrylic panels have been used on bridges and interchanges. Earth mounds (limited use) In a small number of areas where there is sufficient space, landscaped earth mounds were used instead of concrete walls. Earth mounds provide the same level of noise reduction as walls. The Freeway Reserve EastLink has been constructed along an established freeway reserve in Melbournes east and south-east. The reserve was clearly detailed in Melways map directories for around 40 years before construction began. This reserve minimised the number of houses that had to be acquired to make way for the motorway and also provided prospective purchasers of properties adjacent to the reserve with notice that it was the site for a major road in the future. Noise Monitoring Following the opening of EastLink, independent consultants Bassett Acoustics undertook a program of noise monitoring in representative locations along the alignment to measure the actual noise levels being experienced by residents. The purpose of the monitoring is to verify the effectiveness of the noise walls and mounds constructed along EastLink in accordance with the extensive modelling and testing undertaken prior to construction. The noise monitoring was undertaken more than three months after the opening of EastLink to allow adequate time for driving patterns to become established. Traffic Noise Criteria The EastLink Concession Deed specifies the following performance criteria in relation to traffic noise: Road Section Performance Criteria

Category A Buildings1 Category B Buildings2

Eastlink General 63 dB(A) L10,18hr63 dB(A) L10,12hr

Local Roads including: Ringwood Bypass East of Ringwood Street Monash Freeway Mornington Peninsula Freeway Frankston Freeway 63 dB(A) L10,18hr where noise levels after the commencement date will exceed 68 dB(A) L10,18hr without additional acoustic treatment. 63 dB(A) L10,12hr where noise levels after the commencement date will exceed 68 dB(A) L10,12hr without additional acoustic treatment.

Within All Other Local Road Interchanges The greater of: 63 dB(A) L10,18hr or no more than 2 dB(A) higher than the L10,18hr traffic noise level that would have prevailed if the road improvements had not occurred. The greater of: 63 dB(A) L10,12hr or no more than 2 dB(A) higher than the L10,12hr traffic noise level that would have prevailed if the road improvements had not occurred.

Notes: 1 Category A Buildings are defined as residential dwellings, aged persons homes, hospitals, motels, caravan parks and other buildings of a residential nature. 2 Category B Buildings are defined as schools, kindergartens libraries and other noise-sensitive community buildings. Noise Monitoring Methodology Noise levels due to traffic on Eastlink were measured at representative locations along the road corridor between Donvale and Frankston, during the period from the 10 October until the 4 December 2008. An environmental noise logger was set up at each measurement location in general accordance with the procedures prescribed by VicRoads Requirements for Acoustic Consultants. The procedures require the microphone to be positioned outside a building, at a distance of one metre from the most exposed window to a habitable room on the lowest level of the dwelling. At each location, the measurements were performed for a period of nominally one week in terms of hourly A-weighted L10, L90, Leq and Lmax Sound Pressure Level. The noise measurement locations were selected based on the following objectives: Where the predicted noise level is close to the project criteria; Across a range of locations where different traffic noise model variables are introduced; At locations which are representative of where residents have raised concerns; At locations where the three different project criteria are applicable; Where different noise walls and barrier types are encountered; and, Visual inspection following a drive through. Results The results of the noise monitoring undertaken by independent consultants Bassett Acoustics indicate that the operational traffic noise levels comply with criteria specified in the EastLink Concession Deed and validate the noise model for the Eastlink project. The maximum dB(A) L10 (18 hr) noise level measured along EastLink during the noise monitoring was 55dB(A) L10 (18 hr). This is well below the limit of 63 dB(A) L10 (18 hr) as specified in the EastLink Concession Deed. Truck Noise ConnectEast acknowledges the concerns of some local residents, particularly located in suburbs close to the EastLink tunnels regarding the noise associated with trucks braking and accelerating. In response, signs advising trucks to limit the use of engine brakes have been installed on the approach to both the Melba and Mullum Mullum tunnels. We also continue to work with the trucking industry to raise awareness about local resident concerns and to encourage consideration regarding the use of engine brakes. In December 2008 in the Victorian Freight Network Strategy, Freight Futures, the Victorian Government addressed the issue of reducing engine brake noise: Reducing the noise coming from trucks and trains remains a concern for many communities in Victoria. While it is particularly an issue in urban areas, where residential, business and recreational land uses abut transport corridors, it is also a major issue in rural areas and regional cities. Indeed, truck noise is an issue in many smaller towns in regional Victoria where major highways are also the towns main street. Considerable progress has been made in recent years to reduce the noise emanating from truck engines. While some newer trucks are much more powerful and in some cases larger, the adoption of new engine technology, exhaust technology and engine encapsulation has delivered significant reductions in noise. However, engine brake noise remains a problem that needs to be addressed. Auxiliary brakes, including engine brakes, are important safety equipment in trucks. Effective auxiliary brakes are especially important to reduce the load on service brakes on a steep descent. Some engine brakes are noisy and the bark characteristic of the noise is offensive, especially at night. Australian Design Rule 83/00 regulates drive-by noise for new truck models manufactured after 2004 and any new vehicle from 2007/08. However, until recently, no regulation or associated enforcement technology has been available to eliminate the use of noisy engine brakes. To address the noise issue, Victoria has been proactive in promoting the responsible use of engine brakes and encouraging operators to adopt quieter engine brakes, or better muffling, to limit noise. Victoria has also actively contributed to work on national reforms that aim to find a regulatory solution to this issue. National regulations have recently been developed and agreed by Australias Transport Ministers. Victoria will work with industry to adopt these model regulations and deploy the necessary equipment and resources to enforce them effectively. These regulatory and enforcement measures, combined with ongoing awareness efforts in partnership with industry, will seek to reduce the input of noisy truck engine brakes in communities. ConnectEast fully supports the Governments position and has written to the Minister for Roads and Ports and offered to work with VicRoads in their efforts to minimise the impact of engine brakes on Victorian communities. GlossarydB(A) means A-weighted Decibels, the unit of Sound Pressure Level. The A-weighting adjusts the levels of frequencies within the sound spectrum to better reflect the sensitivity of the human ear to different frequencies. L10,1hr means the value of A-weighted Sound Pressure Level which is exceeded for 10 percent time during a one hour measurement period [dB(A)]. L10,12hr means the arithmetic average of the hourly L10,1hr Sound Pressure Levels measured between 6am and 6pm [dB(A)]. L10,18hr means the arithmetic average of the L10,1hr Sound Pressure Levels measured between 6am and midnight [dB(A)]. Sound Pressure Level is a measure of the magnitude of a sound wave (Unit: Decibels). Mathematically, it is twenty times the logarithm to the base ten of the ratio of the root mean square sound pressure at a point in a sound field, to the reference sound pressure; where sound pressure is defined as the alternating component of the pressure (Pa) at the point, and the reference sound pressure is 2x105 Pa.

5.2 Arhitectura si fenomenele mecanice(arhitectura si matematica)Perfect buildings: the maths of modern architectureby Marianne Freiberger

Architecture has in the past done great things for geometry. Together with the need to measure the land they lived on, it was people's need to build their buildings that caused them to first investigate the theory of form and shape. But today, 4500 years after the great pyramids were built in Egypt, what can mathematics do for architecture? At last year's Bridges conference, which explored the connections between maths and art and design, Plus met up with two architects of the Foster + Partners Specialist Modelling Group, Brady Peters and Xavier De Kestelier, to cast a mathematical eye over their work.

The London City Hall on the river Thames. Note the giant helicalstair case inside. Image Foster + Partners.Foster + Partners is an internationally renowned studio for architecture led by Norman Foster and a group of senior partners. It has created landmarks like 30 St Mary Axe in London (also known as the Gherkin), London City Hall and the Great Court at the British Museum. Ongoing projects include one of the biggest construction projects on the planet, Beijing International Airport, as well as the courtyard of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC and the new Wembley Stadium in London.Many of Foster + Partners' projects have one thing in common: they are huge. This means maximal impact on their environment and its people. Designing such enormities is a delicate balancing act. A building not only needs to be structurally sound and aesthetically pleasing, it also has to comply with planning regulations, bow to budget constraints, optimally fit its purpose and maximise energy efficiency. The design process boils down to a complex optimisation problem. It's in the way this problem is solved that modern architecture differs most from that of the ancient Egyptians: advanced digital tools can analyse and integrate the bewildering array of constraints to find optimal solutions. Maths describes the shapes of the structures to be built, the physical features that have to be understood and it is the language of computers, and so it forms the basis for every step of the modelling process.The Specialist Modelling GroupThe Foster + Partners Specialist Modelling Group (SMG), of which De Kestelier and Peters are members, was set up in 1997. The SMG's job is to help architects create virtual models of their project. "Usually a team come to us with a concept," says De Kestelier, "that could be anything from a sketch to something already quite developed. We then help them to model it using CAD (computer aided design) tools, or we develop tools for them."

Mathematical surfaces populated with panels. Image courtesy Brady Peters.With the help of computers you can model pretty much every aspect of a building, from its physics to its appearance. Computer models can simulate the way the wind blows around the building or sound waves bounce around inside it. Graphic programs can explore different mathematical surfaces and populate them with panels of different textures. And all the information you get from these models can be pulled together in what is probably the most important innovation in architectural CAD tools in recent years: parametric modelling.

An architect's model of 30 St Mary Axe. Image Foster + Partners.Parametric modelling has been around since the 1960s, but only now are architects fully exploiting its power. The models allow you to play around with certain features of a building without having to re-calculate all the other features that are affected by the changes you make. This makes them extremely powerful design tools. Take the Gherkin shown on the left as an example. If you decided to make the building slightly slimmer, this would have a knock-on effect on some other features. You'd have to re-calculate its out-lining curves and the angles of its diamond shapes, for example. This is quite a lot of work and even when it's done, you'd still have to draw a new sketch, either by hand or by re-programming your computer.Parametric models do all this for you. They allow you to change a variety of geometrical features while keeping fixed those features you have decided should not change. The models function a bit like spreadsheets: changing a feature of the building is like changing an entry of the spreadsheet. In response to a change the software regenerates the model so that pre-determined relationships are maintained, just like a spreadsheet re-calculates all of its entries.Equipped with the digital tools provided by the SMG, a design team can explore a huge range of design options in a very short period of time. The team can change geometric features of a building and see how the change affects, say, aerodynamic or acoustic properties. They can explore how complex shapes that are hard to build can be broken down into simpler ones, and they can quickly calculate how much material is needed to estimate the cost. The results are buildings that would have been impossible only a few decades ago, both because their complex shapes were next to impossible to construct and because of the degree to which they exploit science to interact optimally with their environment.The GherkinThe Gherkin is one of the projects the SMG was involved with and is a prime example of how geometry was chosen to satisfy constraints. Going by the official name of 30 St Mary Axe, the building is 180 metres tall, three times the height of the Niagara Falls. There are three main features that make it stand out from most other sky-scrapers: it's round rather than square, it bulges in the middle and tapers to a thin end towards the top, and it's based on a spiralling design. All these could easily be taken as purely aesthetic features, yet they all cater to specific constraints.A major problem with buildings of the Gherkin's size is that air currents sweeping around them create whirlwinds at their base, making their immediate vicinity an uncomfortable place to be. To address this problem, the SMG advised the architects to use computer models which, based on the mathematics of turbulence, simulate a building's aerodynamic properties. The model showed that a cylindrical shape responds better to air currents than a square one and reduces whirlwinds. The fact that the tower bulges out in the middle, reaching its maximal diameter at the 16th floor, also helps to minimise winds at its slimmer base.

A model of air currents flowing around the Gherkin. Image Foster + Partners.But even if you're not being ruffled by strong winds, standing next to a sky-scraper can be eery. It dwarfs you, it eclipses shorter buildings and it takes away the sunlight. Again, it's the Gherkin's distinctive shape that helps minimise these effects. Its bulging middle and its tapered top ensure that you never see its top from below, thus not making you feel quite as small. And the Sun and other views still have a chance to peep through to the bottom.

The Gherkin's floor plan. Image Foster + Partners.One thing that was decided at the outset was that the Gherkin should be as sustainable a building as possible, and this meant choosing a shape that maximises natural air ventilation (to save on air-conditioning) and the influx of natural sunlight (to save on heating and lighting bills). Six triangular wedges were cut out of the circular plan of each floor, penetrating deep into the building's interior. These serve as light wells, and the shafts they create increase natural ventilation. However, the wedges do not sit right on top of each other. Aerodynamic modelling showed that ventilation is maximised if the plan of one floor is rotated by several degrees with respect to the one below. Thus, the shafts the wedges create spiral up the building and interact optimally with the air currents caused by the building's outward shape. Windows in the facade of the wedges open automatically and draw fresh air into the building. As a result of this carefully chosen geometry, the building reportedly uses 50% less energy than others of comparable size.

The inside of the Gherkin. Triangular wedges have been cut out of its floor plan. They serve as light wells and increase air circulation. Image Foster + Partners.The London City HallThe London City Hall houses the Mayor of London, the London Assembly and the Greater London Authority. The use of glass and a giant helical staircase in the interior are supposed to symbolise the transparency and the accessibility of the democratic process. What is most striking when looking from the outside, though, is the building's odd shape.

The London City Hall on the river Thames.Perched on the banks of the river Thames, the building is reminiscent of a river pebble, with its roundness again hinting at the democratic ideal. But as with the Gherkin, the shape was not only chosen for its looks, but also to maximise energy efficiency. One way of doing this is to minimise the surface area of the building, so that unwanted heat loss or gain can be prevented. As the mathematicians amongst you will know, of all solid shapes, the sphere has the least surface area compared to volume. This is why the London City Hall has a near-spherical shape.The building's lopsidedness is also conducive to energy efficiency: the overhang on the South side ensures that windows here are shaded by the floor above, thus reducing the need for cooling in the summer. As with the Gherkin, computer modelling showed how air currents move through the building and the geometry within the building was chosen to maximise natural ventilation. In fact, the building does not require any cooling at all and reportedly uses only a quarter of the energy of comparable office spaces.Even the helical staircase was not chosen for entirely aesthetic reasons. As part of their analysis, the SMG modelled the lobby's acoustics, quite appropriately for a building representing the voice of the people. Initially the acoustics were terrible with echoes bouncing around the large hall. Something was needed to break up the space. One of Foster + Partners' past projects provided a clue: the Reichstag in Berlin also contains a large hall, but in this case it is broken up by a large spiral ramp. The SMG created a model of a similar spiral staircase for the London City Hall and the company Arup Acoustics analysed the acoustics for this new model. As you can see in the animation below, sound is trapped behind the staircase and echoes are reduced, so the idea was adopted in the final design. (Animation Arup Acoustics.)

Floating Architecture Rising sea levels, flooding wetlands and the desire to attract more tourists is giving rise to numerous examples of floating architecture. Floating hotels, resorts, apartment complexes, spas and even golf courses are being built at different places around the world, from London, Amsterdam and Qatar to the Maldives and Cambodia. Elitechoice lists out some of the most luxurious floating marvels from around the world.1. Type: Floating HotelWhere: London

As the London 2012 Summer Olympics approaches, we hear that floating hotels along the Thames River could be the answer to upcoming lodging issues as visitors stream in for the sporting gala. According to reports, at least three cruise liners docked on the Thames will offer lodging options to visitors during the three weeks of the Summer Olympics. These floating hotels will dock at a distance of three miles from Olympic Park in Stratford. So getting around should not be a problem for guests onboard these hotels.2. Type: Floating ResortWhere: QatarConstruction cost: $500 million

The Amphibious 1000 project is Qatars attempt to create a floating resort that will feature underwater rooms. Italian architecture firm Giancarlo Zema Design Group has offered a giant octopus-like design with four large luxury hotels, and among other things, an interactive marine life museum. The venue for this unique and ambitious project is a marine reserve. Among the striking design elements of this piece of floating architecture are the numerous four-floored jellyfish pods that house a lounge and an underwater observatory.3. Type: Floating Apartment ComplexWhere: NetherlandsUnderwater Condos The Art History Archive - Architecture

This Website is Best Viewed Using FirefoxLiving Beneath the SeaDecades from now people in Canada and cities around the world could be looking at fish going by and enjoying the view of shipwrecks like the Sligo. Seen through the pressurized window of an underwater condo, the stark wooden ribs of the 19th-century schooner might be seen reaching up toward the surface of Lake Ontario. To highlight the historic remains, the condo's board could place lights around the bones of the Sligo so residents could watch salmon schooling at night around the underwater landmark off the western waterfront.

The Sligo is one of three visually dramatic wrecks on the bottom of Lake Ontario, close to Toronto's shoreline. Now visited only by scuba divers, breakthroughs in both building and air cleansing technologies mean multiple dwelling habitats such as submerged condos could one day be built within sight of the lake-bottom attractions. Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise called space the final frontier, but that distinction may actually belong to those parts of the planet covered by water. Michael Schutte, the vice-president of engineering at U.S. Submarines, doesn't believe it will take as long as 30 years before people are living on the bottom of Lake Ontario. The Toronto-born-and-raised mega-yacht designer is now based in Oregon overseeing the construction of an underwater five-star hotel to open on the edge of a coral cliff in the South Pacific by 2009. Schutte, 45, is overseeing the above-water construction of the Poseidon Undersea Resort, which will be taken to Fiji and placed on the bottom of a deep lagoon. There will be 24 undersea hotel suites and apartments covering 51 square metres, anchored on the ocean floor 12 metres beneath the surface. Although the hotel will have a fleet of small submarines, getting down to the luxury suites (rumoured to be priced at $15,000 per person per week) won't actually mean getting in the water; the building will be connected to the surface by elevators and air shafts. "The only reason you haven't seen any underwater condos in Toronto yet is that farmland is literally dirt cheap and underwater construction is super expensive," Schutte says. "If you build a unit that begins at the bottom of the lake and breaks the surface, you are in essence simply building a basement onto a houseboat. Given the price of waterfront land in Muskoka, as prices rise the houseboat with a 10-storey cement basement has more and more appeal."

Today, however, more people live in space than submerged in H20. More research dollars are spent on establishing habitats on the moon and Mars than underwater. "Why does everyone live on land anyway?" asks Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield. "Three-quarters of our planet is water and yet mankind is clustered haphazardly on the land. From space you can easily see where people are congregated. You just look for the 'Big Smear,' the bands of pollution that permanently surround our large cities." "It is said that if we could handle the density of Manhattan, the whole population of North America could be placed in a state the size of Connecticut," Hadfield tells visitors at the Ontario Science Centre. "On land we have randomly chosen where we live. But in the water, there would have to be more order. Living underwater, like living in space, has some challenges breathable air, potable water, construction constraints and temperature but there are advantages, too. "It would take housing pressures off agricultural land and allow (the city) to access underwater resources for cooling, insulation, electricity and, of course, water."

Click here to browse the Lilith eZine. Click here to browse the Art History Archive. Hadfield, like most other NASA astronauts, has spent time in the Aquarius permanent undersea laboratory, one of the world's few underwater habitats, 20 metres down and five kilometres east of the Florida Keys. The submerged building is owned by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and used for a wide range of underwater research projects. "People live under the water today for very short periods of time usually a week or less, but sometimes for extended periods of up to two to three weeks," says Florida-based author, explorer and former mission commander for seven NASA underwater missions, Dennis Chamberland (see chamberland.org). "But no one has ever lived undersea permanently not one person in all of history. My group is planning to establish the first permanent civilian colony off central Florida in 2012 and for the first time, mankind will have a permanent address undersea. So it will happen in the next few years, not 30!" Chamberland's Atlantica project will be using a donated submarine (originally built to hunt for the Loch Ness monster) to establish three manned undersea habitats over the next five years. If the construction of the underwater station goes as planned, people will begin living on the bottom beginning in 2012, Chamberland says. "Humankind is attracted to the beautiful and exotic places of our solar system. Just as man will be attracted to one day living on the cliff sides of the Valley of the Mariners on Mars, mankind will be attracted to live in the beauty of the underwater regions of our own planet," he says. Schutte agrees. "Living underwater is not a new idea," he says. "Hell, people in their 40s and 50s who are in charge of investment funds and brokerage houses and who grew up on Scientific American and Popular Science know it is doable. And these people have the money to make it happen.'' "The technology is already here," Schutte says. "In essence, I am building a luxury yacht to sink beside a Fijian reef. People are willing to spend $30 million on a boat, so why not an underwater hotel?'' A decade ago a research project involving the Canadian Navy's Cormorant dive tender found little life on the floor of Lake Ontario near Toronto's Harbourfront area. But filling in sections of Lake Ontario, albeit in relatively small blocks, presents more political problems than ecological and construction roadblocks. Would interest in underwater construction persuade politicians to allow building in the same lake that provides Toronto's drinking water? Blame much of the current interest in underwater projects on Lloyd Godson, a young Australian scientist. Earlier this year Godson, with the backing of the Australian Geographic magazine, spent 12 days living in a yellow steel capsule submerged in a flooded gravel pit. He built and sank "the world's first self-sufficient, self-sustaining underwater habitat." Using solar power sensors on the surface and riding a stationary bicycle to produce additional electricity to keep his lights and computers working, Godson lived independent of terra firma. The air that he breathed was purified and recycled by algae soaked in his own urine. His algae garden absorbed the carbon dioxide he exhaled, and released oxygen for breathing (he did have to supplement his air supply with air from scuba tanks). "The demand for information from the media took me by surprise when I was underwater," Godson says. "We were front page from England to Taiwan." After emerging Godson was besieged with offers from the media to fund and film future extreme adventures. He was in Toronto earlier this summer to shoot a pilot TV show for Canada's Cineflix Productions, which wants to make a 13-part series following Godson's future projects. "My quarry project was done on a shoestring, but it shows that soon people can live underwater and it can be done cheaply," Godson says. "My habitat wasn't luxurious and there would have to be a lot of improvements to be usable again. I had a bed, a computer, a phone, email, plants and a fishing rod. I was doing all right, but mate, it was a bit boring. "There is no noise underwater. If you are a people person, an underwater home is not for you."