Snorri Giorgetti - The Future is Now

Qatar-Bahrain Causeway: The world's longest bridge

2010-02-20T00:26:12Z

The Qatar Bahrain Bridge is a world's longest causeway that is to be built between the two Arab states of Qatar and Bahrain. Design and construction of a dual 2-lane road bridge 40 km in length between Qatar and Bahrain. The sea link includes a series of artificial dykes for shallow sections and spans for deep sections for a total of:

- 18 km of dykes,
- 22 km of viaducts and bridge,
- 2 cable-stayed bridges 400 metres high to permit maritime navigation.

Soliloquy - The Super-Green Superyacht

2010-01-20T23:01:49Z

Alastair Callender, of Callender Designs, has developed a radical 58m, rigid-wing superyacht concept, which will be powered from wind, solar and Hybrid Marine Power (HMP) technology from Solar Sailor Holdings Ltd.

Initially aimed at an owner of an eco-friendly stance, with a non-sailing background, Soliloquy shall push the boundaries of yacht design convention as we know it today, and points to the future of clean, luxury yachting.

This pioneering and highly efficient motor-sailor will offer numerous advantages, which will widen her appeal to more potential investors - not least thanks to being powered quietly by renewable and hybrid-electric energy. In turn this will bring zero-emission capabilities, and result in significant savings in fuel cost.

Soliloquy's rigid-wing rig, and architecturally dynamic form, will be a unique sight to all mariners.

A design brief was reached to ensure that renewable energies, along with eco-friendly materials and construction techniques, would confirm that this superyacht will become one of the Greenest of luxury yachts. This will comply with, and aims to excel in various industry requirements, including the new Green Star Plus certification from RINA in Italy.

The innovative overhead beam, sweeping forward to the bow, not only brings structural advantages, along with exciting and refreshing visual aesthetics, but has been specifically designed to house three automated and pivotally mounted, rigid-wing solarsails.

Efficient sailing propulsion is possible due to the patented technology and automation of Solar Sailor Holdings Ltd's solarsail pivot. This technology has received a development grant from the US Navy for unmanned ocean vehicles and is currently used on a series of ferries.

This will allow Soliloquy's three solarsails to independently rotate through 360 degrees, and be coupled with the optimized rigid-wing design to add propulsion efficiency.

The superstructure has been enhanced by its efficient Photovoltaic surfacing. Once all the adaptable blinds have evolved out of the overhead beam, a total of over 600 square metres of coverage will be revealed. Additionally each solarsail can be angled to the sun, to optimise solar collection when becalmed.

More Information: Solar Sailor & Callender Designs

Burj Khalifa (Dubaï): the tallest man-made tower ever built

2010-01-07T05:50:12Z

Asia has been winning the "tallest building in the world" race for over a decade now: the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia took the crown from Chicago's Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) in 1998, and held it until the Tapei 101 in Taiwan replaced them in 2004. As of Monday, the title goes to a structure much further East, and over a thousand feet taller than the previous record-holder:

The building was designed by British architect Adrian Smith. It has 160 floors, at 828 m (2,717 ft), using 330,000 cubic metres of reinforced concrete and103,000 square meters of glass.

The official height was kept a secret until the opening ceremony, which featured fireworks, streams of water and parachute jumpers, the New York Times reported. The $1.5 billion dollar tower holds a mixture of nightclubs, mosques, literary suites, and boardrooms. It will eventually hold the world's first Armani hotel, the world's highest swimming pool, and the world's highest mosque. More than 12,000 people will reside in its 6 million square feet.

The Burj Khalifa takes its name from Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The last-minute renaming -- the tower was originally to be called the Burj Dubai -- reflected the troubled economic situation surrounding its completion. The capital has poured billions in the financially ailing Dubai to cover its debts.

More information: burjdubai.com

WHY - Wally Hermès Yachts

2009-12-13T01:59:51Z

WHY (Wally Hermès Yachts) is the stunning result of a joint venture signed in June of 2008, between the ultra-expensive luxury brand Hermès, and one of the world's premiere yacht builders, Wally. Certainly one of the most radical boat designs I've ever seen, WHY defies all convention.

THE WHY 58×38

- Spotted by Luca Bassani Antivari, the tried and tested Norwegian Ramform hull, characterised by exceptional and unprecedented stability and volume revealed itself as the ideal choice to be adapted to the WHY 58×38 project

- Following this unique adaptation, the decks and the interiors were developed in accordance with the fundamental credo of WHY, 'form-equals-function'

- This credo spurned numerous innovations in the world of mega yachts: patios generously flooding the interior with natural light, photovoltaic panels on the glass hull sides, a roof opening like Venetian blinds, a 25 meter-long (82 feet) forward end swimming pool, and a 36-meter (118 feet) aft deck beach

- The interior of the yacht is fitted out with water resistant buffalo leather using the calpinage technique

- The yacht, which took years in the making, has been tested in Gotebourg, Sweden, in a specialized tank testing facility, to see how it would perform in big seas. The outcome is that, in full swell, the bow moves a tiny bit and the stern stays completely still

- Anchored, the boat creates a totally flat surface behind it, like an olympic-size pool where you can swim in total peace.

SUSTAINABILITY

- "We are very interested in creating a yacht that will have a low environmental impact", says Pierre-Alexis Dumas. "Its relationship with the sea must be respectful and easy. WHY intends to offer a new way of moving over water by creating an innovative way of managing and recycling its sources and uses of energy"

- "If you want to go totally ecological, the only solution is sailing. The reality is that today, 90 % of the market is powerboats, echoes Luca Bassani Antivari. Our aim is to reduce diesel consumption per year and per yacht: 20 to 30 % for propulsion and 40 to 50 % for generation"

- Thanks to its specific hull, WHY 58×38 requires less power at cruising speed than a boat of equal size. Its diesel-electric propulsion is the most efficient motorisation today, and the surface of the photovoltaic panels, almost 900 square metres, covers most of the boat's auxiliary system needs

- In comparison to a yacht of the same size, WHY 58×38 has been conceived to reduce drastically its energy consumption, saving up to 200 tons of diesel per year

- The WHY R & D program includes tank testing for hull stability in the SSPA facilities in Sweden, and the construction of a full-scale mock-up in order to allow the design team to fine tune the living areas correctly in accordance with the hull's unique shape

- The WHY 58X38 yacht looks very unfamiliar but it remains on a human scale. Space is the greatest luxury on the sea, but I believe the new luxury will be the time to enjoy it", concludes Pierre-Alexis Dumas.

More Information: WHY

Inaugural Flight A380

2009-11-23T13:26:39Z

My travel on the inaugural flight

SMERA by LUMENEO

2009-09-06T10:29:21Z

SMERA Concept: To drive trough the congestions, to park easily.

With its 2m50 of length and 86cm broad, Smera is in the right dimensions to cruise the city, well protected. The side shoulder brings a strong visual signature. Each surface of the body is at the same time beautiful and functional.

Smera is a muxury cocoon, with its fine leather, broad doors, its second place, its pratical trunk for daily carrying. Central LCD Displays all information, commands are easy, the cockpit offers a panoramic look around the city.

More information: LUMENEO

Air Show Le Bourget: 100 Years!

2009-06-10T10:59:14Z

The 48th International Air Show Le Bourget, takes place 15-18 June 2009 for trade visitors and 19-21 June 2009 for the general public. This year "Le Bourget Air Show" celebrates it's 100th birthday! Men and women of many governments and army industry are there. The Show will mark a hundred years of technological innovation in aeronautics and space conquest with an event that continues to look to the future of the industry.

More information: Air Show Le Bourget

Our Home: Thank you Yann!

2009-06-05T15:54:15Z

In 200,000 years on Earth, humanity has upset the balance of the planet, established by nearly four billion years of evolution. The price to pay is high, as humankind has barely 10 years to reverse the trend, become aware of the full extent of the Earth's riches and change its patterns of consumption. Following in the tradition of Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, Home sets out to shift people's perceptions, inspire action and lay a foundation for the edifice that must be rebuilt. The film will be broadcast in the world on June 5th in conjunction with World Environmental Day.

To Watch the Movie (Until June 14th, 2009)

The Official Site of Home

This Site of Yann Arthus-Bertrand

EADS Astrium Space Tourism Project

2009-05-17T11:51:35Z

Full Version

The launch of a new era un space travel

The business jet sized craft is designed to carry four passengers 100 km up into space giving more than three minutes of "zero G" or weightlessness.

The objective of a first flight is in 2011 from Tunisian Spaceport.

After takeoff the plane reaches an altitude of 12 km. This classical aeronautical phase can last for 45 minutes. The pilot shuts down the jets and starts the methane oxygen rocket engine at the rear of the vehicle. The plane then raises along a vertical trajectory. For 90 seconds of flight with a top speed of Mach 3, the plane is rocketed upwards. The maximum acceleration is 3 g. At an altitude of 60 km, the rocket engine is shut down and the plane continues to climb up to a maximum altitude of 100 km.

More Information: EADS Astrium

Dynamic Architecture: Dubai's Rotating Tower

2009-05-09T14:12:02Z

Full Version

Dr. David Fisher's revolutionary Dynamic Tower is the world's first building in motion that challenges traditional concepts of architecture and heralds a new era of architecture, becoming the symbol of a new philosophy that will change the look of our cities and our concept of living.

Offering infinite design possibilities, each floor of the Dynamic Tower rotates independently at different speeds, in different directions, resulting in a unique and ever-evolving shape, and introducing a fourth dimension to architecture: Time.

The Dynamic Tower is the first 100% self-powered Green building with the ability to generate electricity for itself through the use of horizontal wind turbines and solar panels.

The first skyscraper to be built entirely from pre-fabricated parts custom-made in a factory, the assembly process of the Dynamic Tower will vastly reduce construction time, offer substantial cost savings, provide an environmental construction site and increase safety for workers on site .

Dr. Fisher states, "Modern life is dynamic, so the space we are living in should be dynamic as well, adjustable to our needs that change continuously, to our concept of design and to our moods. Dynamic buildings will follow the rhythms of nature, changing their direction and shape, minute by minute, from sunrise to sunset, season to season, adjusting themselves to the environment. From now on, buildings will be alive , creating a fourth dimension of Time, to become part of New Architecture, and transforming the shape of the skylines of the world."

Introducing movement to our the interior and exterior spaces of our daily lives, powered by 100% Green energy and built with efficient pre-fabricated construction methods, the Dynamic Tower will change architecture as we know it, and will launch a new era of Dynamic Living.

Others videos: The first World Dynamic Architecture in DuBai project

More Information: Dynamic Architecture

Appointment in 10 years!

2009-03-30T23:08:09Z

More Information: Microsoft Office Labs vision 2019

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Floating City for Climate Change Refugees

2009-02-02T21:48:27Z

There are very few urban design solutions that address housing the inevitable tide of displaced people that could arise as oceans swell under global warming. Certainly none are as spectacular as this one. The Lilypad, by Vincent Callebaut, is a concept for a completely self-sufficient floating city intended to provide shelter for future climate change refugees. The intent of the concept itself is laudable, but it is Callebaut's phenomenal design that has captured our imagination.

Each of these floating cities are designed to hold approximately around 50,000 people. A mixed terrain man-made landscape, provided by an artificial lagoon and three ridges, create a diverse environment for the inhabitants. Each Lilypad is intended to be either near a coast, or floating around in the ocean, traveling from the equator to the northern seas, according to where the gulf stream takes it.

The project isn't even close to happening anytime soon, but there is value in future forward designs like the Lilypad. They inspire creative solutions, which at some point, may actually provide a real solution to the climate change problem.

More pictures on my Flickr

More information: LILYPAD

Architects: Vicent Callebaut

OpenID Board Election Results: Sincere Thanks to All! Let Us All Work Together!

2008-12-28T00:55:58Z

Please let me address particularly all of those who have not been elected or re-elected, to tell them that we are considering them as highly experienced and immensely valuable to OpenID and the Foundation. Together, we will continue efforts to insure the success of OpenID in the world, and build on all that former and current members of the Board had accomplished. We know that their contributions to the Mailing List and to the various Committees will continue be invaluable. They will continue their work establishing Local Chapters in their respective countries.

And since we are recruiting new Corporate Members (speaking of which--I am hoping to see TELCO come aboard very soon!), we will be able to broaden the New Community Board.

As soon as January First, I will be at the service of the whole OpenID Community with the New Board.

Composition of the New Community Board

The composition of the New Board is as follows:

Elected to serve 2-year terms:

- Snorri Giorgetti 106 votes

- Nat Sakimura 89

- Chris Messina 76

- David Recordon 76

Elected to serve 1-year terms:

- Eric Sachs 62 votes

- Scott Kveton 57

- Brian Kissel 55

You can see the complete results here: http://openid.net/2008/12/27/openid-board-election-results/

I am convinced that the New Board will be able to give OIDF vigor and impulsion.

Please allow me to express a personal reflection on Nat Sakimura's election. Nat's name and mine will give a new "European-Asian" face to the OpenID Foundation and will remind everyone that the Foundation has been created to promote the interests of the Worldwide Community.

My Thanks to all the Members

I would like to extend my thanks to all 175 persons who have voted, and also to remind them that, during the course of the year, they will be called upon to participate in other votes or polls.

May also reiterate that you only have two days left to vote on the PAPE Specification.

Of course, in 2009, we will develop actions to increase the number of new Members; several of our efforts will be directed towards medium-sized businesses.

This is just the beginning of a New Era for OpenID! Let us all pull together to make it happen!

Dailymotion Implements OpenID

2008-12-24T00:22:01Z

Dailymotion, world's largest independent video sharing site, today announced that it has added support OpenID.

Dailymotion: Authenticate with an OpenID

Encounter with the Berber Families - Ourika Valley - Morocco

2008-12-16T00:16:31Z

More information: Berber People Hight Atlas