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FIVE WORKS BY ZAHA HADID
Zaha Hadid was asked to design the BMW Central Building in Leipzig, Germany (2005), described as the "nerve center of the whole factory complex," subsequent to an April 2002 competition she won, when the layout of adjacent manufacturing buildings had already been decided. Suppliers chosen for the rest of the factory provided many prefabricated elements, in harmony with the "industrial approach to office spaces" decided by BMW. — Published 2009.1111
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DYMAXION REDUX
Visiting Fuller's house today requires a $14 ticket. In a landscape packed with planes, trains, and vehicles of all kinds, the sparkling body of the Dymaxion House makes a striking appearance. — Published 2009.0617
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MODERN PREFAB BY MARMOL RADZINER
The Rincon 5 by Los Angeles firm Marmol Radziner recalls the pristine residential architecture of Mies van der Rohe, though this guest house may have more in common with the humble American mobile home. — Published 2009.0318
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RESIDENTIAL RECLAMATIONS
It's a spacious, imposing Los Angeles residence that has a central courtyard with lush vegetation and a cooling fountain. But don't look for palm trees or swimming pools or movie stars — this is no stereotypical Southern California abode. — Published 2008.1008
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ART IN BEIJING
With Beijing hosting the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, the Chinese government has sought, like a typical Olympic host, to make a statement about the country's progress. In China's case, this has included some ambitious and high-profile architecture projects, such as Herzog & de Meuron's spectacular bird's-nest-like National Stadium. — Published 2008.0716
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COMPONENTS HOME
Bell Travers Willson, a London-based architecture and design studio, has launched a method that harnesses digital design technology and low-volume custom production methods to build a sustainable alternative to traditional housing.
Through FACIT, the house-manufacturing company they founded, the architects produce the "Digital House" using a detailed 3D computer model. This information is transferred to a computer numerically controlled (CNC) router, which rapidly cuts components from sheets of plywood in a controlled factory setting. — Published 2007.0425
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MODULAR MODES
Modular houses are composed of one or more sections that are factory built, transported by truck, and set on a foundation. Modular houses may be made of two modules, as is the Sunset Breezehouse shown here, or they can be assembled from a kit of prefabricated parts. — Published 2007.0411
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PLUGGING IN PREFAB
Michael Hardiman spent five years in London using form-Z to design prefabricated building elements for The Forge Company. These elements were then built full size and applied in subsidized-housing projects, including the Beaufort House Project for the Peabody Trust housing association. — Published 2005.0803
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TIMELY WATCHWORKS
If "Swiss clock maker" conjures an image of quaint craftsmanship conducted in gingerbread workshops, think again. The oldest active watch making firm in the world, Vacheron Constantin, recently celebrated the opening of a new headquarters building that looks as sleek and trim as any 21st-century timekeeping technology. — Published 2005.0209
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NEIGHBORLY MOD
The Ebeling House in Dortmund, Germany makes a direct challenge to conventional expectations and local taste, and it is equally bold in its reference to modernist minimalism. Is this boldness hostile, or friendly? Does it reward analysis? Does it make a humane place for living? — Published 2005.0202
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