Last week MVRDV unveiled plans for “The Cloud” – two luxury condo towers in Seoul, South Korea joined by a pixelated “cloud” of protruding sections that bloom from the middle. Much to the surprise of MVRDV, the design has set off a media frenzy with hundreds of people claiming that the buildings were intentionally designed to evoke September 11 and the fall of the Twin Towers that once stood in New York City’s World Trade Center. MVRDV has released an official apology, but it will likely take much more than that for the crowds to quiet. What do you think – does the form of “The Cloud” resemble the explosion of the Twin Towers during the 9/11 attacks on New York City?

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", eco design, eco skyscraper, eco tower, green architecture, Green Building, green design, green roof, korea, luxury high rise, MVRDV, mvrdv twin towers controversy, mvrdv world trade center controversy, pixelated cluster, seoul, september 11, Sustainable Building, the cloud, twin towers, world trade center, WTC, yongsan dreambug

Read the rest of The Cloud: MVRDV’s Twin Towers Look Eerily Similar to The World Trade Center

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", eco design, eco skyscraper, eco tower, green architecture, Green Building, green design, green roof, korea, luxury high rise, MVRDV, pixelated cluster, seoul, september 11, Sustainable Building, the cloud, twin towers, world trade center, WTC, yongsan dreambug

Read the rest of ChonGae Sunken Stone Garden Opens Up an Underground River in Seoul

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", canal restoration, chongae canal restoration, ChonGae Sunken Stone Garden, eco design, green architecture, Green Building, green design, green space, korea, Landscape Architecture, mikyong kim design, public park, public plaza, restoration, river rehabilitation, river restoration, seoul, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, urban green space, water issues

Read the rest of Pan Gyo Complex by MACK Architects Wins Korean National Housing Contest

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Post tags: eco design, green design, green roof, Korea National Housing Competition, Mack Architects, mark mack architects, natural ventilation, pan gyo housing complex, Pan Gyo Housing project, seoul, sustainable design, sustainable housing complex

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Post tags: changing seasons, Daylighting, eco design, green design, green roof, Haeahn Architecture, Joel Sanders Architect, korea, seoul, solar gain, sustainable design

South Korea recently announced that it will curtail the use of printed printed paper textbooks by investing $2 trillion to develop digital textbooks for all subjects and all schools by 2015. The new digital textbooks will not only contain the contents of ordinary textbooks, but also utilize other reference resources such as multimedia in order to help children learn.

Read the rest of South Korea To Convert School Textbooks To Digital Versions By 2015

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Post tags: book, BookBag, books, education, kindle, Kindle DX, KindleDx, korea, school, seoul, south korea, SouthKorea, students, tablet, tablet pc, TabletPc, tablets, textbooks

The citizens living off the Han River in Seoul, South Korea inaugurated the world’s largest floating island just last week with great excitement! With two more islands slated to open in September, the recently opened Viva is already drawing crowds en masse with its first-rate entertainment complex. The stunning structure includes a 700 seat convention hall, restaurants and arcades — all powered by solar energy. When the development is completed, the trio of islands will be linked together by twenty-three weather-proof chains.

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Post tags: Buoyant islands, eco design, floating islands, green design, han river, seoul, Solar powered entertainment complex, south korea, sustainable design, Tera, Vista, Viva

Read the rest of Space Invaders: NL Architects Unveils Green-Roofed Apartments That Resemble the Classic Video Game

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", gapyong, green architecture, Green Building, green design, green roof, green roofed apartments, nl architects, residential development, seoul, south korea, space invaders, suburbs, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, terraced apartments, urban density

Many countries have invested in green public transportation as of late, with both the UK and the US implementing trial electric bus services. However South Korea set to surpass both nations as the Seoul Metropolitan Governmentrecently rolled out the world’s first commercial all-electric bus service!

Read the rest of South Korea Unveils World’s First Commerical Electric Bus

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Post tags: bus, eco-friendly, EcoFriendly, electric bus, electric vehicle, ElectricBus, ElectricVehicle, ev, green, public transportation, PublicTransportation, seoul, Seoul Metropolitan Government, SeoulMetropolitanGovernment, south korea, SouthKorea

Read the rest of Futuristic Multi Floor Bridge for Seoul Creates Its Own Energy

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", bridge, dangi-li power plant, Eco Architecture, green architecture, Green Bridge, green design, green space, han river, korea, Paik Nam June Media Bridge, photovoltaics, planning korea, seoul, Solar Power

Gadget geeks, prepare to get wired in a whole new way — researchers at Korea University in Seoul recently discovered a way to transmit data directly through the human body at broadband speeds by using the arm as a conduit. The researchers placed two electrodes 12 inches apart on a subject’s skin and were able to clock data transmission rates of 10 megabits per second. The technology may pave the way for ultra-efficient implantable body monitors that cut energy needs by 90%.

Read the rest of Researchers Transmit 10mbps Broadband Data Through Human Arm

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Post tags: broadband data through arm, Design for Health, green design, seoul, south korea university, sustainable design

Last year, we watched as Korea’s Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) developed a new kind of electric vehicle that relies entirely on power from cables buried beneath the road–no outside recharging required. Now the system has been unveiled in its first real-world test location: the Seoul Grand Park amusement park in southern Seoul.

Read the rest of Amusement Park Powers EVs Using Electric Toothbrush Technology

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Post tags: clean transportation, electric vehicle, ev, EVs, green design, green transportation, hybrid bus, inductive charging, kaist, magnetic energy, olev, phev, seoul, south korea

Read the rest of Seoul Transforms a Freeway Into A River and Public Park

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Post tags: Cheonggyecheon Stream, korea, rehabilitation, restoration, seoul, stream, Urban design, urban park, urban renewal, urban renewal project

Seoul, Korea’s existing Grand Park is a basic big city park with trails, playgrounds, an art museum and a zoo. But major plans by design and engineering firm AECOM to transform the area into a mammoth theme park have just been released, snagging them the big win in an international competition for a concept design and feasibility study for the park. The proposal, called Gaia: The Living World, comes to life in renderings showing lush gardens, waterfalls, natural animal habitats, high-flying rides and roller coasters which look like they’d be a ton of fun. The design also incorporates a ‘whole systems approach’ and a closed-loop resource plan to use water, energy and materials efficiently.

Read the rest of AECOM’s Giant Amusement Park in Seoul Wins International Competition

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Post tags: aecom, park, seoul, seoul's grand park, theme park, zoo

Seoul, South Korea is filled with blinding light-up displays and headache-inducing neon screens. But residents of the city who want to see these displays put to good use need only take a trip to the World Cup Stadium’s Peace Park, which is where this beautiful Living Light sculpture blooms. The permanent outdoor pavilion and glass canopy projects up-to-the minnute information about local air quality, and locals can send it a text message to receive a report from anywhere.

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Post tags: Air quality, Art, environmental art, green art, light installation, living light, seoul, south korea, sustainable design

A new super skyscraper has just been announced for South Korea and will tower over all other buildings in Asia when it is complete in 2014. From a global perspective, Lotte Super Tower 123, designed by Kohn Pederson Fox, falls just short of taking the title, and will be not the tallest but the  second tallest skyscraper in the world. The structure will serve as the new corporate headquarters for the Lotte Group, whose subsidairy, Lotte Construction, will build it. Zoning has been approved and excavation is nearly complete. With aims towards LEED silver certification, the tower will have a strong environmental component and will offer Seoulians mixed-use areas such as shops, apartments, offices and a hotel.

Read the rest of Tallest Building in Asia Revealed for Seoul, South Korea

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Post tags: "leed", Architecture, eco skyscraper, Kohn Pederson Fox, leed certification, seoul, seoul skyscraper, skyscraper, south korea, super tower

A striking example of shipping container architecture, Platoon Kunsthalle serves as an exciting and inspiring new exhibit hall and art center in Seoul, Korea. Built from standard shipping containers by Graft Lab Architects, the Kunsthalle, provides a gorgeous modern space where new ideas thrive and creativity is let loose. The building opened last April and houses art studio space, exhibit areas, a restaurant and bar, as well as lots of open space to gather.

Read the rest of Platoon Kunsthalle: Seoul’s Modern Shipping Container Art Center

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Post tags: art exhibit hall, graft architects, platoon kunsthalle, Recycled Materials, recycled shipping containers, seoul, shipping container, shipping container structure

Rem Koolhaas has repeatedly wowed us with his unique buildings, but this one takes the cake. Designed in collaboration with Prada, the Transformer is a pavillion designed to accommodate an array of cultural programs and functions including art, architecture, film, and fashion. And because Koolhaas is never one to bow to tradition, his solution literally transforms depending on the necessary functions, changing shape like origami for different activities, events, and seasons. Koolhaas solution?

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Post tags: building that changes shape, cool architecture, korean architecture, oma, prada transformer, rem koolhaas, seoul, shape shifting building, transforming building