Architects who follow their creative impulses, pushing limits and concepts outside of traditional standards, spark my internal flame and keep it lit.

I recently wrote a post called, the rise of the renaissance generation, where I talked about a new book, RenGen: The Rise of the Cultural Consumer and What It Means to Your Business, which explores the concept of creatives (like you and I) giving birth to a new type of renaissance - one that just might lead us into the next generation.

In keeping to the theme of celebrating new ideas, here are some design concepts on the future of architecture by the Next 20 Gene Project - An international group of architects out of Taiwan - for the Venice Architectural Biennale.

You might not resonate with all of these but that’s really okay. They are interesting enough to get us to start thinking differently.

Villa Paladio by Ian+ is named after a famous 16th century Italian villa. The idea according to the architects is to allow ‘villa to become the interface of nature and scenery.” My first reaction was unfamiliarity and thefore a bit uncomfortable, yet as I continued to look more closely, I became more attracted to the idea.  The movement and texture of the roof feels harmonizing to me. An abundance of natural light brought in by all the open windows is carefully considered and very attractive. There is movement and flow, a soft vertical water feature on the right side with the exterior linear features balancing out and giving focus to the structure.

The concept behind Chromosome-H by Hsueh-Yi Chien is fasinating. There is the correlation to the human genetic code and the movement of messages from one part of the body to the other.  That idea is transformed into Chromosome-H - a facilitator of dna replication. My translation: Each area of the space speaks to the other in a linear, more scientific context. I’d be doing some major softening in the interior design.

Calligraphic House by Yu-Tung Liu is my favorite of the three here. The architect talks about, “drawing a wild cursive on Mother Earth” which actually put the biggest smile on my face. The intrinsic nature between a calligraphy line and the lines in the Earth is evident. There is something very light about not having a linear roof above when inside a space. And imagine all the natural light coming in from those grand windows. That would be a dream space to decorate.

For more fascinating examples of Gen20, visit their website: www.nextgene20.com. Make sure to click on English.

Now if I ever get stuck in an emergency situation, I hope to have one of these ‘off the hook’ fabulous inflatable emergency shelters designed by the WE Group collective, which are as sustainable as they are smart. The concept was recently introduced at the Alan Baxter gallery in London. I’m seriously impressed. Here are the details as explained by the WE Group:

The design consists of a double-walled tent, which is inflated and kept rigid by a solar-powered fan.

WAS tent is an inflatable structure for shelter, water storage, natural ventilation (air) and solar energy collector. The structure is easy to transport to the disaster site. A quiet fan keeps the tent inflated as long as needed. The structure is installed in less than five minutes and can be folded up in the accompanying bag when deflated.

Thin photovoltaic-cell film mounted to the inner layer of the surface provides electrical power. The double layer skin is the self supported structure and also provides excellent insulation at night. The geometry of the structure, informed by the principle of natural ventilation, helps to cool the internal space during the day.

And here’s my favorite part. The designers actually care about the experience of the survivors in the tent. As they say, “We want to make people feel like being inside an enormous bubble separated from the outside chaos and protected.” And protected they would be since the structure is self-contained with “integrated design considerations for solar power, ventilation and water supply.”

The idea behind the design is to send these to disaster relief areas around the globe and I completely support that, but if they ever go retail, I’m getting one for my emergency kit. I’ll keep you posted.

I happened to be one of the lucky 36 millions visitors to attend the 1992 World Expo in Seville, Spain.  I was 23 at the time and it rocked my world. The collective energy of all those countries together in celebration of the world was magical. The time to hold that special event will happen again in Shanghai China in just two short years. I’m tempted to buy my ticket now along with my carbon offsets. Philip?

As explained on designboom, “the world expo aims to promote the exchange of ideas and development of the world economy, culture, science and technology, giving exhibitors the opportunity to publicize their achievements and improve international relations.”

Love it. Congratulations to Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) - a Copenhagen based group of 85 architects, designers builders and thinkers– who have won the danish pavilion for Expo 2010,  “with their proposal of a loop, a velodrome and an interactive fairytale.” BIG (I imagine) are going to have fun creating and the visitors even more fun biking and walking around that loop.

In an effort raise awareness around sustainable urban alternatives in the growing traffic in Shanghai, the Danish Pavilion will offer its 1500 city bikes to visitors for the duration of the Expo. I’ll let designboom explain this interesting eco-fact: “Denmark’s polluted harbor activities have been replaced by harbor parks and cultural institutions, and the water is so pure you can swim in it, whereas in Shanghai the situation is not as perfect. For the Danish Pavilion, BIG’s aim was to try and bring the Danish approach and perspective to Shanghai. In the heart of the pavilion there will be a mermaid pool, filled with sea water from Copenhagen’s harbor and will allow Chinese guests to swim, feel and taste the water.” That’s so way cool. If they can do it, so can we. Here’s a sneak peak at BIG’s proposal for the pavilion:

Yep, that pool you see in the middle of the pavilion will be swimmable.

When I woke up this morning the first thing I did was appreciate all that was around me in my bedroom like my altar, my soft pillows and personal items that support me emotionally, physically and spiritually. No, these objects do not (in themselves) define who I am; they are simply an outward expression of who I am internally and serve to remind me of what is important to me and why. I think we all can identify with the idea of our personal possessions as a reflection of self.

When I saw the works of Japanese object artist Mr. Matsumoto (Boku) who creates everyday objects (from times past and present) out of wood and brass, it reminded me of the beauty of simple objects that tell a story of everyday life that we all can relate to.

If you look closely, you can see all detail work involved. What a gift you have Mr. Matsumoto.

Mr. Matsumoto in a peaceful moment in his store.

From Dezeen Design Magazine:

BOKU was born in a small seaside village in Japan in 1962, and started his career as an artist in 1990 after learning woodwork at Shimane Polytechnic Institution. He has loved music, creative work and the sea since he was a child. Currently he works as an essayist, a singer-songwriter as well as an object artist.

It’s always inspiring to see those who are following their dreams, especially when they are following several at the same time. It also serves as a reminder to the rest of us to follow our own.

For more info on the artist visit his website here.

Check this out; Slovenia appliance manufacturer Gorenje just introduced a refrigerator/freezer with a built-in speaker and an iPod docking station. Its sleek design was unveiled this weekend at Berlin’s IFA 2008 consumer electronics fair. You can listen to music and watch cooking videos all in the comfort of your own sacred kitchen space. I don’t know about you, but I keep my iPod and Bose portable docking station in my kitchen already but would love to combine fridge and iPod. One thing I love about European design is the built-in environmentally friendly aspect. It’s not really talked about (or marketed) in the same way that US manufacturers do. After doing some research, I found out that by law, European appliance manufacturers are required to use up to 50% of recycled steel in the making of a product. That makes perfect sense to me.

I have no idea on the price. It’s probably a bit spendy, however, worth it, I bet. Currently Gorenje has no distribution in the U.S. I have a feeling, though, that the U.S. will soon be on their map. We’re big on our iPods here. For moe info on Gorenje visit their website at www.gorenje.com.