After enjoying a successful month-plus long run in the hills of L.A., The Storefront for Art and Architecture recently folded up the tents to its Pop-Up Store so they could sprout in another city. This time they’re taking the show across the pond to London as part of the London Festival of Architecture 2008. Their temporary display is opening June 20th and running through July 27th on Exhibition Road and will feature The BIG CPH Experiment, a series of design projects and building models created by the Copenhagen-based architecture firm BIG/Bjarke Ingels Groupe. Known for infusing living essentials such as leisure time, working, and shopping in their work, CPH’s first showing at the Storefront’s New York base was in October 2007, highlighting the housing needs for those of differing attitudes and economical backgrounds. At its center is an impressive rendering of LEGO towers, constructed from 250,000 of the plastic blocks. We’re sure you’ve made some pretty sweet things out of LEGOs in your day, but we’re almost positive these towers dwarf the castle you constructed when you were ten.

You might be saying to yourself, “Hey, I live in a ‘gravity defying home.’ It’s called an apartment.” And you’d be right. But, PointClickHome has a whole gallery full of slightly wackier concepts than your Upper East Side, white-pained-brick, 12′ x 9′ coffin. Architectural feats include tree houses in Java, lantern-like condo bubbles in British Columbia, and the occasional angular cube found in Scandinavian countries. Our favorite: Archangelsk, Russia’s Gangster house. This wooden tower of tower was apparently owned by a repudiated mobster that loves Frank Gehry and hates structural stability.

There once was an old woman who lived in a shoe; unfortunately, it was extremely impractical in that it wasn't very spacious and always smelled of feet. We think she would've been much more at home in the U.S.'s first Mid-rise container building, slated to be finished by March 2009 in Salt Lake City. The project, City Center Lofts, designed by container architecture expert Adam Kalkin, is considered eco-friendly thanks to it being constructed from 50% recycled content. Not only is this eight-unit super-condo located to plenty of Downtown SLC amenities, but is has a few added features of it's own such as on demand water heaters, a green roof, tons of natural light and ventilation, and high performance windows. Did we mention the ground level will house an art gallery. Sounds like paradise on earth, minus the swimming pool. Now, I wonder if the folks who move in get first dibs on displaying their art in the gallery?

Of the top three places architects look for inspiration, we’d say nature would be number one (two and three are always “art” and “the dumpster behind Frank Gehry’s house”). For Orquideorama in Medellin, Colombia (yes, the same place where Pablo Escobar had his cocaine empire), flora is more than just a design concept: it’s the freakin’ design. What looks like wicker platforms are actually pedal shaped, steel-reinforced modular structures. Architects Felipe Mesa and Alexander Bernal wanted their garden to be a garden in every conceivable way, so as the plants propagate, so do the platforms. At the vertex of these cones are self-sustaining gardens that drink up the rain water that gets funneled down. t’s a beautiful, functional space, and makes us realize that our father has a lot of improvements to make on our old treehouse.

In 1982, I was busy wandering around my house wearing kickass Spiderman pjs with footies and learning to put sentences together. Not far away in New York City, the Storefront for Art and Architecture, a not for profit organization ‘committed to the advancement of innovative positions in architecture, art and design’ was being founded. Twenty-five years later, we're both still here. Coincidence? I think not. While after twenty-five years I've ditched the Spiderman PJ's and can string sentences together a little better, the Storefront for Art and Architecture continues to be one of the city's only ‘alternative platforms focusing primarily on architecture and the built environment.’ To celebrate their longevity the organization is expanding their reaches beyond the New York City Metropolitan area with Pop Up storefronts hosting exhibitions in cities all over the world. The first of these opens on April 11th in Los Angeles, and will feature Frédéric Chaubin's CCCP: Cosmic Communist Constructions Photographed exhibit in a partially disused printworks space. The exhibit will show for five weeks before it disappears into thin air...or at least is carried away by truck. We recommend seeing it before the latter happens.

In 2008, for the first time in recorded history, fifty percent of the World's population will be inhabitants of the earth's urban environments. The dense population of these cities has created a great need for low-cost housing. The Design Indaba Conference, celebrating its tenth anniversary, recently launched the 10×10 Housing Project Challenge to promote the South African design community. The project gathered ten architectural teams, consisting of one South African and one international architect and asked them to provide cutting-edge designs for homes in the low cost housing region of Freedom Park in Capetown, South Africa, that would dispose of the perception that housing for the poor has to be dull and absent of innovation. Some pretty arresting designs by the likes of Tom Dixon, Shigeru Ban, David Adjaye, Thomas Heatherwick And Klein Dytham resulted from the project, but that's not the end of the story; the last step is for the ten houses to be constructed and for a users manual to be given to the Minister of Housing. The manual will ‘provide open-source prototypes for the future.’ Perhaps their vision of the future involves flying cars…a boy can dream, right?

A few years after its groundbreaking, the ace-looking Singapore Flyer has finally opened to vertigo challengers this week and I’m betting that Josh will be the lucky first among us here to ride it. A ferris wheel that wins the use of all superlatives, the Singapore Flyer is a monster-size observation wheel that towers 42 stories high, an important distinction the promo material likes to point out as 30 meters taller than England’s London Eye so why-don’t-you-stop-the- comparisons-already. Glass capsules each holding 28 passengers are affirmed to be a half-hour experience free of any palpable vibration or movement while riders enjoy a view of Singapore that looks into Malaysia and Indonesia. The company suggests renting an entire capsule just for yourself and your friends, and while you’re at it, might as well get married in it too (and uh, can you say Mile High Club?) . They also recommend the capsule as a prime place to hold business events, so I’m passing that very, very good idea on: Josh, how about arranging our next editorial meeting in one of these? I’ll bring the donuts and boba.

While the most cities shudder at the potential of a major disaster and the impact it would have on the lives of its inhabitants, the majority urban infrastructure experts would probably agree that it never hurts to be prepared for the worst. Having dealt with major crises before the New York City Office of Emergency Management decided you could never have enough input on how to deal with the issue of post-disaster housing. As a result, they held the What If New York City Design Competition, in which designers from around the world submitted proposals on possible design for post-disaster housing solutions. In January the NYC OEM chose the ten winners, and ten honorable mention designs from the contest. Perhaps our favorite design came from Danish designers (and winners themselves) Carston Laursen and Morten Fassov, whose vision depended on principles of urbanity, sustainability, home and rationality, as well as reliance on the strength of a hexagonal structure to create a new urban grid that is seemingly practical and visually stimulating. It's all quite an accomplishment for building plans you hope never need implementation.

In the early 1900's England, if a tree fell in the woods or an oncoming enemy plane was approaching a military stronghold on the coast, chances are someone would know it. However, it wasn't due to the Brits bionic hearing. It was more likely due to “sound mirrors;” these concrete parabolic monoliths and design ancestors to the satellite dish were used to trap sound waves and hear incoming enemy airplanes before you could see them. While practical back in the day, the reliance on radar made them obsolete. Fortunately for anyone who finds themselves on the British Isles many of them still stand today as an impressive monument to a technology gone the way of the dodo. Thanks to the good folks at Core77 and deputy dog for the heads up.

Brad Pitt’s making news for something other than adding to the collection of ridiculouslt attractive, culturally-relevant third world children he shares with Angelina Jolie; this time, it’s for something we’d probably never have seen coming. Apparently Brad Pitt has a little soft spot in his heart for architecture and design, and he’s proving it by helping out the people of New Orleans. Pitt is putting up $5 million of his own money, alongside philanthropist Stephen Bing, toward project Make It Right, an initiative that will build 150 low-income houses for residents of New Orleans.

These aren’t your average projects; the team has hired 13 architecture firms each to submit plans for sustainable, flood-resistant designs. Each house will be around 1200 square feet with three bedrooms, and each will cost around $150,000. The green design initiative is expected to keep upkeep costs down by at least 75% for the residents.

Make It Right is asking for donations from anyone willing to help. Companies can donate a house or multiple home, and individuals are encouraged to help with as much or as little as possible: a solar panel, a tree, even an energy efficient toilet.

I haven’t dove into the housing market yet, but having friends who have done it, they tell me the quest for the perfect place frustrating and the “perfect place” fairly elusive. Some have ended up buying lofts for the endless possibilities an open space can give them, but a year later and half a million bucks in the hole, they’re still living in an echo chamber that resembles every much a Costco warehouse than “home, sweet home.” Familiar story, I bet.

Max Haus in Sao Paulo intends to give Brazilians every final bit of their dream digs. When they buy a 753-square-foot apartment in one of Max Haus’ buildings, the basic sewer lines and such are already set up, but they’ll get to play architect and design the layout, as well as how they want the rest of the space utilized. Then — easy! — Max Haus builds it the way they’ve been instructed. Potential homebuyers start by going to the company’s website, which lets them fool around with different plans that can be saved to a profile. It’s a little bit like Sim City meeting real life. I can’t wait to start building a place to house my enormous shoe collection. What would you do with yours?

I just read about this today over at Core77, and you can bet that I’ll be down there in the next week or so to take a look. The project is part of the Re:Construction Program, an art program taking place in lower Manhattan. The Fulton Fence was completed by three Venezuelan designers: Mateo Pinto, Carolina Cisneros, and Carlos Gomez de Llarena.

The purpose of the Re:Construction Program, and therefore the Fulton Fence, is to “clean up” the visual pollution of public constructions sites by introducing them as canvasses for emerging artists. (Funny how without permission, they just call that graffiti…) The most interesting part of the project, though, is the online component. As part of the piece, the team will continually be building a web-based project, which…takes the form of a continually scrolling web page….Just as the physical installation weaves elements of vernacular construction materials into the frame of the fence, the website will embed media driven ‘interventions’: process documentation, location information, online widget mash-ups, and mobile downloads among others. Check out the progress and online component at fultonfence.net.

Just a few months ago, Kovac Architects broke ground on the Sycamore House, a modern Pacific Palisades residence designed as the home of Principal Michael Kovac. Also to serve as a laboratory for the architecture firm’s ongoing research into environmentally-conscious design, the home is expected to be one of the first in California to receive Platinum Certification from the USGBC LEED for Homes Program. The 3,400 square foot residence has been designed to reflect the environment of the building site, and will draw inspiration from the three Sycamores found on the steeply descending property. Using over 75% of the materials salvaged from the property’s former residence (and an array of sustainable and green construction materials) will ensure that the home is as respectful as it is reflective of the environment in which it lies. Kovac Architects has slated the homes completion for 2008, but in the meantime, more of Sycamore House’s design and material elements can be found here.

Two hours north of San Francisco in Pope Valley (Napa County), a new Rocio Romero prefab is open for tour. The 4 bedroom, 3 bath home is another impressive example of the prefabricated home architecture movement, this time located on 48 acres of private land. As compared to most of the other prefabs we’ve told you about, the Napa home features plenty of room to move around in, as well as the famously modern architecture of Romero. If you need more than 3,000 square f eet to stretch your legs, the grounds also feature a 40×20 swimming pool…and if you need somewhere to film your next blockbuster, the home is also open for commercial photo, movie, and production shoots. The home’s owners are even offering consulting services for anyone considering buying a prefab, offering to walk seriously interested parties through the construction, financing, and design processes. If you’re interested in any of the above amenities, or just want to take a look around, sign up here for one of the home’s monthly weekend tours, but act fast — places are limited.

As we told you a little while back, the WIRED LivingHome — a collaboration between Wired Magazine and LivingHome, an innovative prefabricated housing supplier — is of equal interest to gadget heads, architecture fans and conservationists. Currently having its finishing touches supplied at its location in Brentwood, CA, this house combines the latest in environmentally-friendly (and tech geek-friendly) technology, with the refined architectural touch of Ray Kappe. The news we can share with you today is that the project will open to the public from Saturday, October 27th through Monday, November 5th Sunday, November 11th. In addition, we can share the project’s website with you, so you’ll know where to go to satisfy every bit of curiosity you might have about this house. At the website, you’ll find out things like what car the WIRED LivingHome has in its driveway (a BMW Hydrogen 7), and how much the whole thing costs ($4 million). What? Too extravagant for the environmental contingent? Come on, this is Brentwood, baby.