Working in a large space, at work or at school, makes one extremely sensitive to the idea of microclimates. Whether there is a skylight or window that uncomfortably irradiates the immediately surrounding area, or if there is a thermostat that just can’t be set warm enough, everyone has experienced the discomfort of the unadjustable microclimate. It’s not unusual, though it might be a bit disturbing, to see a co-worker swathed in a blanket (I’m not making that up, unfortunately), or a foot-heater discreetly tucked under a desk. Or you might be one of the unlucky persons either stuck under the artful skylight or near a south-facing, floor-to-ceiling window. That’s because most office spaces are designed for a uniform, master-control HVAC system.

It’s important not to confuse the availability of different technologies with widespread, institutionalized use because to do so is to conflate two very different issues. So while this technology may have been around in bits and pieces, it has yet to be combined into comprehensive tools. And as for implementation, many in the architecture industry have experienced the resistance to both passive and advanced energy efficient technologies.

Interface Studio Architects shared with us their proposal for the Hong Kong Car Parc competition, which aims at romanticizing the car as an active urban object while simultaneously implementing sustainable strategies. In addition to including parking spaces in the rotational design, shopping, food and landscaping aspects are also included in the program. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Watch Thomas Leeser of LEESER Architecture share some insight into what architecture means and how his firm expresses that philosophy. One of our favorite lines is when Leeser stated, “We are not architects with a particular style; we are architects with a particular message.” The clip shares some background pertaining to Leeser’s Museum of Moving Image in Astoria, New York that exemplifies the firm’s idea of a changing continuous media surface and ties the conceptual understanding between film and architecture. What are your thoughts on Leeser’s closing comment when talking about the Bric media center and Urban Glass project – “Our work can influence and change the world around us, there is a really impact…it’s not just like another building” – perhaps, not just in terms of Leeser’s work, but for the field of architecture at large.

Grimshaw Architects recently announced that they have been selected by the All England Lawn Tennis Club to design their “Wimbledon 2020” masterplan for future development requirements. After a competitive selection process, it was decided that they will design the new masterplan to continue the previous ‘Long Term Plan’, which was commissioned in 1993 and completed in June 2011. Working with such a prestigious British and internationally renowned institution, Grimshaw will embrace Wimbledon’s unique history of tradition and innovation to enhance further its position as the pre-eminent tennis Grand Slam. Another image of their design can be viewed after the break.

JAJA Architects makes it to the top with their project proposal ”Sundbyen” in the competition for a new harbor front in Ålesund, Norway. ”Sundbyen” was a proposal amongst many in the open international competition that attracted proposals from 10 different countries. JAJA based their project in the Ålesund’s existing identity and closeness to water. The project enhances the city’s existing qualitites, interprets it and creates a natural coherence between place, history and future development. More images and project description after the break.

Architect: Ennead Architects Architect of Record: GSBS Architects Location: Salt Lake City, Utah, USA Project Year: 2011 Photographs: Jeff Goldberg/Esto, Stuart Ruckman, Ben Lowry

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The Zagreb Society of Architects(DAZ), acting as Organizer and Manager on behalf of The City of Zagreb is launching an open, on-line, one-stage, anonymous, ideas Competition for the urban-architectural conceptual design for the Zagreb Badel Site redevelopment. More information find on the official web site of the Competition. The deadline for submission of competition entries is on Thursday, 5 April 2012 at 12.00 CET. Competitors may make inquiries until Wednesday, 22 February 2012. For more information, please visit their website here. Images of the site can be viewed after the break.

Continue reading for the complete list of the 2012 Young Architects.

The Excavating Wilderness: A Orienting Trajectory Across Central Park proposal by Syracuse University graduate Jeff Kamuda investigates the tensioning between natural wilderness and the built environment. With the rise of modern civilization, a fluctuating tenet between humans and nature can be observed in its reincarnation of the urban park. Situated in New York City’s Central Park, the project introduces a set of natural phenomena through a unique and atypical approach, which in turn serves to stimulate a dialogue between the individual, the park, the city, and the cosmos. Stretching a mile across Central Park from Grand Army Plaza at 59th street to the American Museum of Natural History at 77th Street, the triparted project achieves a dramatic juxtaposition of subterranean experience combined with elevated architecture. Read more after the break.

Tomorrow, the New York Public Library will be hosting a talk between architect Tom Kundig of Olson Kundig Architects and Town & Country Executive Editor Mark Rozzo that will discuss “the role of place, nature, materials and craft in creating Kundig’s bold and sensitive designs”. The talk is free for the public to attend and will feature Kundig’s most recent collection of houses: Tom Kundig: Houses 2. Continue reading for more details.

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First of all, they probably don’t know what they’re talking about anyway. And, I think they asked for some kind of pastel. So, just nod often, eventually, they’ll go away.

If not.

Say things like:

“Trust me, I know what I’m doing.”

Or:

“No, that’s not going to work.”

Or:

“No, because it doesn’t fit with the “vocabulary” of the building”.

(Put “vocabulary” in “air-quotes” and raise your eyebrows.)

Try to look aloof. (well, of course)

When the client opens their copy of “Home and Garden” magazine to show you the kitchen that is “not exactly what they want, but it kind of gives you the overall idea”… try not to appear as if you want to stab them in the eye. Mention that Martha Stewart came up with a line of pottery while she was in prison. It was a custom line of nativity figurines. This might shift their attention. Then, spill your coffee on the magazine.

more tips on talking with clients from coffee with an architect after the break

This February until the first week of July, a selection of photographs and architectural drawings will be displayed at the V&A Museum of Childhood to celebrate the 140th anniversary of the Museum opening in Bethnal Green. A Museum of Art and Science was officially opened by the Prince of Wales on 24 June 1872. More information on the event after the break.

The destruction of the Mercado de la Encarnacion in Seville left a huge void in the urban character of the city center which remained unfilled for over thirty years. The market enriched the city with life, and with its absence, the vitality of the Plaza de la Encarnacion was soon challenged by the negative implications of economic downturn. In April of 2011, Jürgen Mayer H and Arup teamed to complete their solution for Seville’s central square – an architecture that brings a contemporary spirit to such a historical and traditional space. Entitled Metropol Parasol, the massive timber structure (which is one of the largest timber structures built in the world) draws residents and visitors back to the city center as its striking aesthetic provides a variety of markets and restaurants bounded by the dynamic shape of the parasols. We enjoyed the video as it illustrates the impact architecture can bring economically and socially to enrich even one of the most established city centers in the world. The ability for the design team to look toward the future allows Seville to preserve its historic cultural prowress while not limiting itself for future greatness. Special thanks to Marina from Arup for sharing the video with us!

Check out more images of the project after the break, and be sure to read our previous coverage on the project.

Massimo Scolari: The Representation of Architecture, 1967–2012 is the first U.S. retrospective since 1986 of the eminent Italian architect, artist, and designer. The exhibition, presented by the Yale School of Architecture from February 6 – May 4th, explores the arc of Scolari’s career from 1967 to 2012, with some 160 paintings, watercolors, and drawings, most with architectural and urban subjects; a scaled-down iteration of a monumental sculpture created for the 1991 Venice Biennale; and ten architectural models. Together, these illuminate the complex, ongoing interaction in Scolari’s work between architecture and its methods and mediums of representation. More information on the exhibition after the break.

Sofia’s new Metropolitan Station 20 on line 1 connects the nearby historic city with a modern and developing city center. It creates an underground world inspired by the cities’ culture and modern day aspirations. The design strategy by ZNA (Zeybekoglu Nayman Associates, Inc.) seeks to take advantage of the overlapping relationship between Obikolna Street and the proposed station below. The design of a centralized median, which moderates traffic, becomes the glass spine of the station. Composed of high angled walls in white architectural concrete the station is formed to capture natural light. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The Europan 11 winning proposal by CUAC Arquitectura, Serrano + Baquero Arquitectos, and Luis Miguel Ruiz Aviles arises Niwu Water Garden by the ensounter of three main materials: water, city and farmland. In a scenic enclave of particular importance to the city of Leeuwarden an appropriate balance between these materials allows to think about a hybrid landscape which establishs a transition between rural and urban. The result is a new environment in which elements of the city (the traditional and the present) establish a proper dialogue with the existing agricultural plot and its associated infrastructure. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The Lens, designed by Michael Maltzan Architecture, has been selected as winner of the international competition to redesign the St. Petersburg Pier in Florida. After over a month of debate, a jury of three architects and two elected officials selected the proposal, believing it to be the most practical and cost-effective design. The jury’s decision was consistent with the public’s opinion, as 68% of the public comments supported The Lens, 42% liked The Wave, while only 17% backed the Eye. Next, the St. Petersburg City Council will vote on February 2nd to decide whether or not they will approve the design. If the concept is accepted, the next year will be dedicated to involve the public in the creation of the final design.

We have all heard of patenting building systems, building technologies, details and of course, products. But what about patenting architecture? Jack Martin brought this to our attention in light of Apple successfully getting an architectural patent for the design of a store in the Upper West Side in New York City, asking “On what grounds can you patent architecture?” The inventors listed in the patent are architects Karl Backus, Peter Bohlin and George Bradley of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, and Robert Bridger, Benjamin L. Fay, Steve Jobs and Bruce Johnson for a design that Architect’s Newspaper describes as “meticulous and seamless as its clients”.

So, what is the extent of patenting architecture? Structural systems, materials, details, conceptual strategies, the look of it? We interpret architecture as a language in itself, but it is difficult to conceive of copyright infringement when it comes to architectural design because it is difficult to pin-point exactly what makes all of the parts of a building a copyrighted entity. What if Le Corbusier patented his designs? Mies van der Rohe? Frank Lloyd Wright? Their work and strategies have been copied and implemented all over the world to varying degrees. So, where is the line between protecting an original idea and creating a barrier against progress? Or does this commercialization of architecture fuel competition to design better or design around strategies already patented? More after the break.

In this interview published by Seattle Met, Lawrence W. Cheek speaks with Tom Kundig, principal at Olson Kundig Architects. Kundig has defined his career for designing homes that are flexible and considerate in their materials, functions, response to site and the way that the human body interacts with the space and mechanics of the environment. This interview is excellent at revealing Kundig’s inspiration and priorities when it comes to designing homes and he mentions some great examples and strategies that he has taken over the years.

Here is just a list of the variety, but consistency, representative of Kundig’s work:

• Art Stable; Seattle, WA; 2010.
• 1111 E. Pike; Seattle, WA; 2008.
• Rolling Huts; Mazama, WA; 2008.
• Montecito Residence; Montecito, CA; 2008.

On January 25th at 6pm, Tom Kundig will be speaking with Mark Rozzo at the New York Public Library about Tom Kundig: Houses 2. More information on that event coming soon.

Follow us after the break for the full interview, courtesy of SeattleMET, ”Q&A with Architect Tom Kundig” by Lawrence W. Cheek.

AART Architects and Schonherr Landscape recently won the competition for the new Campus Park Skara in Sweden, including a 10,000m2 school and a 49 acre green park. Skara Municipality appointed the two teams to carry on the city’s proud school tradition with their design located in the heart of the city. The winning proposal strives to excite the students’ curiosity and desire to learn by using the architecture as an innovative learning platform, stimulating their senses and social interaction. More architects’ description after the break.

Last summer, we were big advocators for the AIA’s innovative idea to establish a database of stalled projects. As we shared earlier, such a network would allow potential investors to finance halted projects deemed “credit-worthy”; thus, projects that may not acquire the necessary financial backing due to the lack of available credit may be able to be built thanks to public/anonymous investors. This initiative, which has been in effect for a mere 2 and a half months, could be a great opportunity for entreprenauial architects as the database provides a perfect platform for information and interaction. So far, the AIA reported that the database contains 36 projects worth approximately $1.2 billion with 50 investors – and those numbers are only expected to increase as efforts of the initiative are more publicly known. “This effort by the AIA to match projects with investors has no precedent we know of, and so we have to be pleased with the development of the database so far,” said AIA President Jeff Potter, FAIA. “We won’t be satisfied, however, until we see deals being consummated at a rapid pace as a result of our efforts.”

More about the database after the break.

The wicker weaving technique is associated with the traditional manufacturing of small utilitarian objects. This technique installed in Chile since colonial times, stands out for its potential to build complex and resistant shapes given by the flexibility of the fiber and rigidity provided by the weaving. Based on these properties, this project by Andrea von Chrismar explores the manufacturing of the weave, this time in relation to the field of architecture. This research explores the potential of a natural raw material and an ancient technique of patrimonial nature, regarding new usage options. More images and architects’ description after the break.

A well known architectural classic by Le Corbusier, the Notre Dame du Ronchamp, or more commonly referred to as Ronchamp, is featured very elegantly in this video by italian architect Franco Di Capua. The curved roof that peels up towards the heavens, the curving walls, and the the sporadic window placement on the walls are just a few of the architectural elements that make this project such a marvel.