Ocubis Ltd, development manager for owners Laffly Ltd, has announced that planning permission has been granted by the London Borough of Camden in early December for the comprehensive renovation and redevelopment of 150 Holborn, situated at the corner of Holborn and Grays Inn Road. The building designed by Make Architects, which is located immediately adjacent to Chancery Lane Tube station, will be substantially remodelled and extended to create 80,000 sq ft prime office space and six one, two and three-bedroom apartments, which together complement the existing 30,000 sq ft of retail space at ground-floor level. More images and project description after the break.
Join Professor Martin Fischer in a free online course on Making Green Buildings. Starting this month, the class will focus on improving sustainability within the built environment. In this course, you will learn how to manage project teams in order to better design and construct sustainable buildings. The free course aims to spread the knowledge of the sustainable building process so everyone may participate. “Such integrated and holistic project management approach requires a new mindset and novel methods, which are taught in the class.”
Continue reading for more information on the professor and the course.
Haiko Cornelissen Architecten recently unveiled their picNYC table with a live grass table top. Inspired by wave of urban farming initiatives, the picNYC takes this concept into the house at a micro level. A folded lightweight aluminum table top and legs provide the necessary structure to support the stone drainage bed, soil and grass. With the grass option, spilling water while dining no longer becomes an issue, but rather a necessity. However, should one require a finely groomed lawn on top, the grass will need to be cut by hand. Other options suitable for the picNYC include an endless opportunity for planting with a wide range of greenery ranging from flowers, to fruits and vegetables.
The ‘Multitalented City’ by PUPA (Public Urbanism Personal Architecture) is a winning proposal for the Europan 11 which creates a new identity for an old university campus at the periphery of Reims, France. The campus is transformed into a flexible and self sustaining district which is able to adapt to changes – environmental, societal, and economic. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The story of the phoenix is a well-worn metaphor for the history of Atlanta. Reborn from its own ashes, the mythological bird symbolizes reinvention, difficulties and breakthroughs, a resurgent spirit and a shining unwritten future full of hope. Likewise, the newly designed Atlanta History Center by Stanley Beaman & Sears, which came in second in the international competition, must be reconceived to capture and reflect the uplifting energy coursing through the city. The diversity and spirit of Atlanta can no longer be reflected by a series of linear, static, black box galleries and dusty displays. In short, the time for the Atlanta History Center is not the past – the time is right now. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Shebraber School is a collaborative project designed by EthiopiaStudio2.0, a second-generation team of eleven Arizona State University M.Arch graduate students, led by practicing local architect Jack DeBartolo 3. This fall, students had the unique opportunity to travel to a remote village community 120 miles southwest of Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, Africa, to research, develop, and design new classrooms and administration buildings for a school serving children within a 10km radius, many of whom walk hours for the chance to attend. More images and project description after the break.
The design for the First People’s Hospital by HMC Architects aims to create a sustainable healthcare architecture, an idea new to the practice of the region. The project, which was the winner of the national AIA Academy of Architecture for Health 2011 Unbuilt award, features green design elements which optimize building performance. In addition, these elements create a healing environment, further its mission for community outreach, and evolve with cultural uniqueness. Its iconic architecture engages the local historical values and building industry/material. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The London-based firm Assemblage has won the United Nations HABITAT international architecture competition for the design of new housing in Iraq. The competition is part of a larger program by UN-HABITAT and the Iraq government to construct new housing across the country. After succeeding teams from the Netherlands, France and other Arab states, Assemblage plans to refine their proposal and prepare their design for construction sometime within this year. Continue reading for more details on the project.
Architects: Virai Arquitectos Location: Finca de La Grajera, Logroño, La Rioja, Spain Design Team: Marta Parra, Jesús Aramendía, Laila Arias, Juan Manuel Herranz, Federico Wulff, Jorge Garrudo, Christian Alvarez, Rodrigo Aragón, Guillermo Lacarra, María Aramendía and Stepan Martinovsly Area: 6,900 sqm Year: Completed 2011 Budget: 11,292,757 Euros Photographs: José Manuel Cutillas, Diego Carreño
In this Tedx talk, David Chipperfield of David Chipperfield Architectswas invited to discuss the distrust that people feel about architecture, from a practitioners point of view, with the seductively titled talk: Why does everyone hate modern architecture? Chipperfield asks us to consider architecture of the everyday – buildings that are being built on a daily basis, not the notable and expensive projects that are the exception. In looking at today’s architecture, he laments over what he perceives to be, an unsuccessful way in which the majority of buildings are designed.
Tonight, Studio-X Mumbai is hosting a free event with architect Dr. Balkrishna Doshi. The Mumbai gathering will explore the architects life and work on the release of his book “Paths Uncharted”. Described as an evening of storytelling, Doshi will also share his thoughts on the future of architecture. The conversation will be moderated and discussed with professor Neelkanth Chhaya, architect Rajeev Kathpalia and architect Sen Kapadia. Continue reading for more event information.
Lidköping Police Building is LETH & GORI’s proposal in the open competition for a new police headquarter and public parking facilities in Lidköping, Sweden. The project site is an open square on the border of Lidköping’s historical urban plan from 1672. The site is an important entrance point to the historic city and one of the design objectives of the competition was how to emphasize this. More images and architects’ description after the break.
We have been coveringRenzo Piano’s Shard for London throughout its design and construction process. Slated to become the tallest building in Europe, the Shard will make a remarkable impression of the London skyline, dwarfing most of the metropolis as the 1000ft+ tower streamlines toward the sky. The tower has been constructed in an era of economic uncertainty, and although its height alludes confidence and a feeling of power, as it takes shape, many question the motives behind the project and its future implications on the city.
The completion of a building in the planning project of Saclay, Paris is a unique opportunity for ECDM to design one of the markers of the future center of excellence established on the plateau. The uniqueness of the site, and it’s present and future characteristics, make it an interesting emerging area. The Campus EDF project is dense and compact, a volume which unifies a diversity of programs. The building is treated as a block framed by blocks of green, a building perfectly inscribed in a geometric landscape. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The proposal by ferrarifrongia for the Deventer dock is to create a community pervaded by artistic spirit, a desire to build, house atmosphere, and play. The first intent of the project is to release the dock surface to become a beating heart of the new activity of the district. To follow this aim, a new building is conceived, suspended from the ground at a height of 6 meters. With its stereometric silhouette, the new building is a connection between the historic heritage (black silo, high silo, elevator), without brutalizing their facades, letting them breathe and respecting their historical value. The whole complex is pervaded by an artistic atmosphere with colored goedetic structures, which com-penetrate together with existing and new building, working as showcases in spreading color in the dock. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Wanting to preserve what was found by minimizing the building’s visual impact on the surroundings, but also to exploit the precious sea views, the house by doxiadis+ is nestled into the slope of the hill and most of its volume hidden underneath the earth like a snail. Only two small volumes protrude, framing the views and signalling their presence, giving it the scale of the nearby traditional volumes and a very simple, almost poetic dimension. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat recently published The Tallest 20 in 2020: Entering the Era of the Megatall. Within this decade, the World’s first kilometer-tall building will be constructed, along with many other buildings over 600-meters tall. “The term “supertall” (which refers to a building over 300 meters) is thus no longer adequate to describe these buildings: we are entering the era of the “megatall.”
Continue reading for more details on “The Tallest 20 in 2020″.
1. His room is spare, clean, and well lit. 2. The dining area is spacious and white, with a subtle, almost imperceptible low humming drone. 3. He eats alone, although he is often surrounded by others. 4. He spends time in isolation. 5. Daily, he shuffles aimlessly in the enclosed yard, trying to avoid eye contact, until it’s time to go back inside.
https://www.archdaily.com/197828/modernist-or-convicted-felonJody Brown
Professor Doug Muzzio of City Talk sits down with Joshua David and Robert Hammond, co-founders of Friends of the High Line, and Dan Barasch, co-founder of the Delancey Underground. The conversation focuses on the latest plans for the third and last section of the High Line and the potential of the subterranean public park proposal below Delancey Street. Muzzio states, “Ones a great West Side story, the other could be a great East Side story.” City Talk is known to discuss the important issues of New York City with the people who help the city function. Professor Doug Muzzio is a political analyst for CUNY TV and a professor at Baruch College’s School of Public Affairs.
How do we know that sulfuric acid does not cure scurvy? Is it our wonderful intuitive sense about sulfuric acid’s properties? That can’t be it. Vitriol (sulfuric acid) used to be the Royal College of Physicians’ favored choice. The British Admiralty preferred vinegar. Still others favored a variety of remedies including the seemingly ridiculous notion of fresh fruit. This mess wasn’t sorted out until a young Scottish naval surgeon named James Lind did something revolutionary. In 1747 Lind conducted world’s first controlled clinical trial. Fresh fruit won, sulfuric acid and vinegar lost.
Similarly, there are various untested claims about which architectural interventions are beneficial for individuals with autism (see: here, here, here, and here). For the most part, these claims are mired in anecdote and conjecture. This makes it impossible to decipher which ones are sulfuric acid, vinegar or fresh fruit. Fortunately there are a few architects that have started to embrace the Lind spirit. This is the most important and necessary step architects need to take. If architects do not try to verify their claims through fair tests then they run the risk of undermining the public’s trust or worse, unintentionally doing harm to a vulnerable population.
https://www.archdaily.com/197788/architecture-for-autism-architects-moving-in-the-right-directionChristopher N. Henry
Despite the controversy, the South Korean developer plans to move forward with MVRDV‘s design of The Cloud. The Dutch firm has received harsh criticism after releasing their design for the two residential towers that will be built in Seoul’s redeveloped Yongsan business district. Unconvinced by MVRDV’s sincere apologies, critics remain outraged, claiming the design resembles the collapsing World Trade Center following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The second year of the AIM Competition invited participants to implement Green Transformation to the Shougang Group, the yin of dialectics of Beijing’s urban development. The design was to play an equally as significant role as the CBD (Central Business District) in making Beijing a healthy, balanced, and attractive city. It shall become a “Central Recreation District”, differentiated from the Central Business District. Due to the vast area of the Shougang Group site, this year’s focus was on the redevelopment of Er-Tong. Because green transformation spans the multidisciplinary layers of architecture, landscape and urban design, this year’s AIM competition recognized five different awards for outstanding performance. More images and information on the awarded projects after the break.
We are continually impressed by the variety of projects from UNStudio’s office. The firm just unveiled a new vertical city highrise for Singapore previously featured on AD, and recently, the Dutch studio’s international air terminal and traffic control tower for Kutaisi was officially presented by Mikheil Saakashvili, President of Georgia. The country is growing quickly and changing rapidly, with new tourist and economic activity, plus different political developments. As such, the design for the new airport seeks to showcase Georgia new identity by providing a contemporary gateway to the country.
