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Diogene - Diogenes of Sinope was an Ancient Greek philosopher who rejected the amenities of civilized life by living in a barrel in the Agora of Athens. Over 2,300 years later, his name is being used for a 6-square-meter (64-square-foot) living unit designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop with Vitra. As this exploded axonometric illustrates, "Diogene" is hardly as spartan as its namesake; it receives power from PV cells, collects rainwater, and includes a composting toilet, not to mention a shower, folding table, and pullout sofa. A "Diogene" prototype was on display at the Vitra campus as part of Art Basel, and the unit could be available from Vitra as early as 2014. jh

Image: Renzo Piano Building Workshop, courtesy of Vitra

Headlines

Design for Baghdad Library Unveiled – AMBS Architects reveal their design for the building that will be the center of planned "Youth City" in the Iraqi capital.

"A Stronger, More Resilient New York" – Eight months after Hurricane Sandy, and six months before the end of his last term, Mayor Bloomberg unveils a major infrastructure plan.

Hirshhorn Bubble Bursts – Diller Scofidio + Renfro's inflatable pavilion planned for the museum on the National Mall in Washington, DC, has been canceled.

Photo: Mark Howell

Jobie L. Martin Classroom Building

Hinds Community College is the largest community college in the state of Mississippi, serving over 30,000 students in seven locations. The Academic / Technical Center campus provides state-of-the-art technical training in environmental technology, business technology, the culinary arts, and drafting and design, among other skill areas. Its fourth building, designed by Duvall Decker Architects, includes classrooms, laboratories, offices, and study areas.

Insight

Photo: John Hill/World-Architects

The Landscapes of Le Corbusier

Le Corbusier: An Atlas of Modern Landscapes runs from 15 June - 23 September 2013 at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. It is the museum's first comprehensive exhibition on Le Corbusier (Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, 1887-1965), and is billed as "the largest exhibition ever produced in New York of [his] protean and influential oeuvre." Exhibition curator Jean-Louis Cohen, an architectural historian at New York University, gave a tour of the exhibition as part of the "Le Corbusier/New York" symposium at the Center for Architecture on June 8. World-Architects was in attendance and files this report.

Film

Image: WikiHouse

Architecture For the People By the People

While the open-source movement has permeated software and other virtual areas, its implementation into the built realm has primarily been focused on small-scale products. The philosophy's application to architecture has been slow, but designer Alastair Parvin wants to speed things up with WikiHouse, an open-source construction set that allows anyone to design, "print" and assemble house kits. In this TED Talk he lays out his argument.

Product

Globetrotter, Prof. Moths Architekten. Photo: Backstein Kontor

Petersen's Kolumba Brick

Since its 2007 completion, the Kolumba Art Museum of the Archdiocese of Cologne has sat atop the ruins of the Gothic St. Kolumba church, destroyed in World War II. In Peter Zumthor's design, materiality is of the utmost importance, so the Swiss architect worked with Danish company Petersen Tegl to develop handmade bricks that are thinner and longer than standard bricks. Now architects can benefit from their efforts with Petersen's Kolumba™ line of bricks.