Contrary to popular belief, green energy doesn't have to be ugly, so it's encouraging when we see architects, landscape designers, artists, engineers and scientists working together to transform large projects that could be potential eyesores into works of wonder.

Coast Modern Film. From LA to Vancouver, a legacy of inspired living by the pioneers of West Coast Modernist Architecture.

In September 2007, Heatherwick Studio led the winning team in the competition to design the UK Pavilion for the Shanghai 2010 Expo. The event is set to be the largest Expo ever with two hundred countries taking part and over 70 million visitors expected. The theme of the Expo is “Better City, Better Life” and a key client objective is for the UK Pavilion to be one of the five most popular attractions.

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The Seed Cathedral is a 20-metre high building, constructed from 60,000 transparent 7.5-metre long optical strands, each of which has embedded within its tip a seed. The interior is silent and illuminated only by the daylight that has filtered past each seed through each optical hair; a quiet space in which to contemplate this formidable collection of the world’s botanical resources.

At least five million people are expected to pass through the UK Pavilion, which has consistently ranked in the top five most popular pavilions with the public in the run up to the opening.

[via ScottMorgan]

The Archigram Archival Project makes the work of the seminal architectural group Archigram available free online for public viewing and academic study. The archive is arranged in three main ways: magazines; projects; and people.

For the last five years, eVolo Magazine has hosted a futuristic skyscraper design competition. Usually, the entrants imagine giant buildings taller than anything under construction today. However, the most impressive entry in this year's competition goes the opposite route, by dropping the building straight into the sea. This floating building would generate its own electricity and food, house thousands, and plunge deep beneath the waves.

The last time I was in Kansas City I had the pleasure of stopping by the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art to check out the new Bloch Building designed by Steven Holl. His ability to play with light and textures is unparalleled by any other architect that I've come across. His portfolio is huge so have fun spending some time on his site dreaming about living in one of the many spaces he's created.

The Project has come to an end this summer. If you missed it, its still worth having a look.
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TOKYO HOTEL
The artists Sabina Lang and Daniel Baumann (L/B) are not new to the Palais de Tokyo, having contributed a piece to the CINQ MILLIARDS D’ANNEES (Five Billion Years) exhibition. They created a novel installation on the Palais’s roof. A work of art AND a hotel, the Ever- land project offers each visitor a unique opportunity to experience a piece of art from within, in the same way one spends a night in a hotel.

ROOM WITH A VIEW
Installed right on the Palais de Tokyo’s roof, more than 30 meters above the Seine, the Everland Hotel features an exceptional point of view on Paris and the Eiffel Tower. Peering through the hotel’s large curtainless round window overlooking the “salon-lounge” area, settled on one of the comfortable sofas, visitors will find themselves seemingly suspended on the edge of the sky. Double bed, minibar, embroidered bath linens, wifi connection and breakfast served in the room—the Everland offers of course all the comfort of a luxury hotel thanks to a partnership with the Sezz Hotel (www.hotelsezz.com). The care taken and the many choices made by the artists can be seen everywhere, from the retro-futurist design of the site to the little “surprises” like the collection of LPs and their turntable or the playful way reservations are made, along with lots of other details waiting to be discovered on site.Website of the hotel Everland. a project by L/B, Switzerland

Renders, really. No shit.