Rem Koolhaas’s Ras al Khaimah Convention and Exhibition Centre

Image Source: Tropolism

Image Source: Tropolism

Known as the Disneyland of architecture, Dubai has lost it all, to quote Tropolism: "Koolhaas and OMA have officially lost their marbles", a rather extraordinary big marble.

Taken from George Lucas’s Rem Koolhaas’s drawing board, the Death Star like 44-story sphere shaped building appears to be floating on the water is the proposed Ras al Khaimah Convention and Exhibition Centre in the UAE, news had it that the project was shelfed due to some unknown reasons. Just like every large scale building in dubai, it holds a convention centre, hotel rooms, apartments, offices, retail space, and a man made oasis.

Image Source: Treehunger

To say the building resemble the Death Star from the movie Star Wars is entirely not accurate, Gravestmor thinks that the Ras al Khaimah Convention and Exhibition Centre was modeled after Panasonic’s Panapet radio dates back to 1972, five years before Star Wars made it to the big screen.

A golf ball like building, a bowling ball? Probably the designer was inspired by Harmon Kardon speakers for Apple computers .

Image Source: Gravestmor

Come to think of it, it is somewhat different, something new in the architecture world. After all, the Sydney Opera House received some really nasty feedbacks from architects around the world, who knows, the Death Star like building could be the next big hit. Biologist P.B. Medawar once said: "The human mind treats a new idea the way the body treats a strange protein; it rejects it."

Image Source: Guardian

Further Readings:
Wired Magazine – Rem Koolhaas Designs a Death Star for the UAE
Guardian – Introducing Rem Koolhaas’ Dubai Death Star
Architectural Record – Koolhaas Unveils New Waterfront City in Dubai
Ny Times – Koolhaas Lays Out a Grand Urban Experiment

Earth Day – Energy Simulation Plugins for SketchUp

Google SketchUp is celebrating Earth Day with the launch of a new website (I miss the old layout, the new layout is simply ugly) and some really interesting plugins for people that are into sustainability.

Created by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Design Plugin is a free plugin for the Google SketchUp 3D drawing program. It models heating, cooling, lighting, ventilation and other energy flows in buildings.

Google SketchUp appears to be growing stronger every day, it used to be a simple 3d modeling tool. Anyway, Tuesday was Earth Day.

Happy Earth Day, you know, there seems to be some “special day” everyday, women day, labor day, mother’s day, father’s day, teachers day, blah blah blah, someone should propose – “No Day”, we need a break from all of these celebrations.