Pole dancing is a form of performing art, a combination of dancing and gymnastics. It involves dancing sensually with a vertical pole and is often used in strip clubs and gentlemen’s clubs. A similar pole is used in cabaret/circus and stage performance in a non-erotic environment, in which context the style and moves are very different.

The standard dance pole typically consists of a hollow steel or brass pole with circular cross section, running from floor to ceiling. DESIGNSIGH share a sneak peak of the modern Pole Dance installation with you today. The installation is called PS1  by SO-I.

These poles are made with clear plastics and contain water, glitter, and special reflective materials which stand out when used in conjunction with strobe lighting, as well as lighting hidden in their base joists.

Since 2000, the MoMA and the P.S.1 have been running a competition under their Young Architects Program, inviting each year a group of emerging architects to experiment with new shapes and materials, resulting in a summer installation at the P.S.1.

Interesting projects have come out of this competition, such as the Public Farm (PF1) by Work AC in 2008, and Afterparty by MOS last year. And today, the winning proposal for 2010 has been announced: Pole Dance by Brooklyn based SO-IL (Solid Objectives Idenburg Liu) a practice ran by Florian Idenburg and Jing Liu.

The built installation will be very fun to visit. As you can see on the renderings, the net waves around, and touches the soil at the pool in the center, with a few holes that let you pass by. SO-IL worked with Buro Happold for this structure, and with Sciame for cost analysis, to keep the installation on a $85,000 budget.

Photos by: Iwan Baan

The Netherlands is a geographically low-lying country, most of the country is very flat, with the exception of foothills in the far south-east and several low-hill ranges in the central parts created by ice-age glaciers. The Netherlands is a densely populated country. It is known for its windmills, tulips, clogs, weed, Gouda cheese, visual artists, and bicycles. Dutch architecture has played an important role in the international discourse on architecture. The image displays the cantilevered “outboard units” of the WoZoCo seniors’ housing complex in Amsterdam maximize daylight in the interiors and preserve outdoor spaces.

This structure is some kind of work position outside of architecture, as a clear piece of sociology and ecology. The Dutch Pavilion is an emblem of MVRDV’s resolutely pro-density thinking. Stackability is a recurring feature in all of MVRDV’s urban solutions. Inside this building is evoking the artificial nature of the Netherlands in the “tulip fields”.

Maxima Medical Center, conceived in 2002, in Veldhoven, the Netherlands.

The 2005 Effenaar Eindhoven, in the Netherlands.

The CCA, 2006, in Rotterdam.

Overall Dutch architecture shows how architects form the new urban spaces will have an effect on a society’s culture for years to come, so design is a political issue for us, for the feature.

Architectural photographer Iwan Baan recently shot the Universe House, designed by Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco and built by architect Tatiana Bilbao in Roca Blanca, Mexico.

The house is inspired on the Jantar Mantar Astronomical Observatory, built in Delhi in 1724. Stefano Boeri from Abitare interviewed Gabriel Orozco about this project, where you can read more about his vision. Check out the photos of the house with one of the best pools I have ever seen.

When a 40-year-old pine tree fell over at the rear of a Brentwood estate in Los Angeles, the owner decided to honor its resilience by incorporating it into a 172-square-foot office / guest house.

While most tree houses have a trunk running vertically, this one floats above the tree, suggesting the delicate tension between nature and the built environment. A gallery and a guest cottage ‚Äì it’s perched atop a hill and overlooks canyon vistas, downtown Los Angeles and the Getty Center.

The creators are Rockefeller Partners Architects, which spent about eight months on the design. “We had a bunch of fun with it.” said Chris Kempel, the project’s architect.

The entry and stairs to the tree house complex was sculpted from exposed, unpainted concrete, designed to suggest the ladder of a traditional tree house.

The tree house serves as well as  modern-day amenities like a daybed, a sink, a toilet, a small refrigerator, a fireplace and a microwave.

To connect back to the fallen tree, the architects carved a portal in the walnut floor, affording a view of the inspiration for the house itself.

Materials and craft has a significant role inside and out. The columns are Type 316 stainless steel – almost nautical grade. Floors and walls are walnut; windows are mahogany.

The whole process of designing the house took about eight months.Construction of the inhabitable sculpture, with its studio and lounge, took another 18 months.

Large floor-to-ceiling windows and doors provide abundant natural light and ventilation.

The outdoor shower below the tree house was shaped and formed from concrete to be a truly private experience.

Photos by: Eric Staudenmaier

Dzintari Forest Park has a unique location with 13 ha territory of nature sited in the heart of Jurmala city, Latvia. Because of the greater intensity of development of public and residential objects in the city,  the notion is to feature it into the overall system of the infrastructure objects and to adapt this territory to regular public visits became topical.

The structure of the park is created as a singular mechanism that controls park visitors’ relationships with nature. A 200-year-old pine-tree growth and the protected biotops of bilberry bush are the greatest treasures of Dzintari forest park.

The most attractive element is the inline skating track in the middle of the park. Pedestrian bridge separates skater and pedestrian paths. The park also offers skate-board and street-ball grounds, children playground, cafes, sports inventory rental, lavatories and other buildings. Modules are the most suitable principle for the creation of the park objects.

The facades of buildings are broken into different angles that significantly reduce the overall bulkiness of volumes. Composite panels with polished aluminum surface are used for facade finishing. Vertical division of specular facades reflect the natural appearance of surrounding environment and dispel the park’s newly created building objects.

The park is absolutely stunning, you can spent whole day there enjoying lovely weather, spontaneous meeting or even though your own creative activity!

If you are a forest person, it’s gonna be hard to believe in better office environment than the one that architectural firm, Selgas Cano, recently built to work out of, in Madrid.

It’s really simple tube, sunken into the ground, with a long window on one side. The architecture is very good and a little goes a long way: Sinking the building into the ground is an ancient strategy to improve building insulation; Inside, the recessed floors make it seem as if you’re completely immersed in the woods, when you’re looking up.

The Dutch photographer Iwan Baan took wonderful pictures of the structure. Take a close look ….!

Ginkgo Lounge is located in Portim√£o, Portugal and it’s a very stylish and sunny Restaurant & Lounge. The place is a perfect spot for travelers and locals. The design of the building is very simple, but at the same time spectacular.

Ginko Lounge offers amazing green atmosphere inside and out. The restaurant is surrounded by greenery and makes sense of an eco house. Portimao is a city, where the sun is shining almost every day. The city is also known as Vila Nova de Portim√£o.

In 1924 it was incorporated as a city and became known as Portim√£o. The city proper has 45,000 inhabitants and the entire municipality 52,000.

Portim√£o is also a city with great sporting events. It is here, that in the summer, the Mundialito de Futebol de Praia of Beach Football. Even the Rally Lisbon-Dakar goes through this city, where you can also see Surf and Kitesurf.

Photographs by Tiago Rosado

This is a two levels house, located in Pousos, Leiria, Portugal. The house resides a longitudinal band centered in the plot that defines to main gardens – one at the entrance and plain; the other one, near the scarp and facing the city.

The house consists four volumes welded together with a full straight lower level. The four volumes also define several outside spaces that enhances the house living.

Photographs: Joao Morgado

Large shell shaped structure finds itself in the middle of the woods. A frame, a shape, made at a completely different place for a completely different purpose. Within this shell shaped structure will one find floors constructed, wall separating spaces, and rooms furnished.

Being in sync with nature isn’t about yielding to nature Рit’s about coexistence. The existence of the structure depends on its power to endure nature. By isolating living space from the wilderness, and upgrading its quality as a shelter, the house will be protected from nature and will provide a comfortable environment. With this, the house will be taken care of and used frequently and continuously.

The house is located in Japan and The regions’ low temperatures and high humidity level makes for a harsh climate. Despite the general avoidance of concrete material in the region, its usage and the lifting structure have helped the villa protect itself from the humidity.

Leaving the boundary between human life and nature ambiguous is a Japanese virtue. Having a type of living space that merges with nature could be appealing, but it only seems natural to consider this option only when one is ready to devote a large time solely on maintenance.

With its classic status as a summer resort, many old villas in Karuizawa take on traditional styles, from the time when visitors arrived with the intention of staying for at least a month.

Karuizawa is merely an hour and 10 minutes away from Tokyo – visiting Karuizawa just for the weekend has become a norm today. A shorter visit calls for a shorter duration of maintenance.

The central control system enables all mechanical and electrical equipments to be managed by three buttons. In addition, the biometrics lockage and security system will reduce anxiety and stress over house safety management. The installment of the custom made floor-heating system minimizes the use of heat energy for avoiding the trouble of emptying drainage in cold regions.

The building frame is assumed to assimilate with its surroundings with the passage of time. To provide efficiency during maintenance, the concrete was exposed, finished with a penetrative sealer for concretes.

By dividing the oval section with a flat floor, a bow shaped space will appear on the bottom of the oval, which will serve as a heat chamber and be filled with pipes. Warm air that blows from locations of frequent use will efficiently heat the flooring.

At times of absence, if the temperature drops to freezing point, an automatic system installed beneath the flooring will run its antifreeze procedure.

The efficiency of this system is truly remarkable. The house will be occupied frequently over many years and yet at the same time be in sync with nature.

I present the most breathtaking 110-foot-long traditional house, built by John Hardy, a jewelry designer, and his wife, Cynthia. The house sitted on the Ayung River valley on Bali, an island in Indonesia.

The owners of this fantastic house met in Bali and eventually created a collection of silver jewelry, based on Balinese designs and jewelry-making techniques.

The upper house stands on stilts 59 feet high.

The main house was finished in 1997, so the Hardys recently added this 46-foot by 34.5-foot kitchen.

Passageways along the side of the raised house lead to the master bedroom.

The house’s custom-made rainforest shower, with copper walls, was designed by Mr. Hardy.

The master bedroom, like all the other rooms, are open to the elements. At night, the staff raises canvas “sails” to protect the furnishings from rain.

The view from the master bedroom, looking down on the family’s swimming pool.

Over time, the Hardys bought 11 small properties to create the house’s 2.5-acre site.