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Courtesy of Studio Kalamar

Located in Ljubljana, Slovenia on a corner site at the western entrance to the city, the composition of the West Gate office building, designed by Studio Kalamar, is defined by two office towers. The southern tower rises over the intersection, accentuating the direction towards the city with its sharp projecting corner while the lower northern wing serves as a background to the principal motive as its composition approaches the dynamic of railway traffic behind it. More images and architects’ description after the break. read more »

© Sean Kenney

There’s a new Trump in town — and it’s ten feet tall! Chicago’s Trump International Hotel and Tower has been given the LEGO treatment, thanks to designer Sean Kenney. The LEGO expert has been creating sculptures from the children’s toy, and paying tribute to the country’s finest buildings over the last few years, choosing Trump’s Apprentice headquarters as his latest project and using 65,000 pieces to complete it! More images and project description after the break. read more »

Courtesy of Museum of the City of New York

Pritzker Prize-winner Kevin Roche is one of America’s most influential and prolific architects, acclaimed for his skillful integration of man-made and natural environments. Drawing on material originally presented at the Yale School of Architecture, Kevin Roche: Architecture as Environment, which runs from September 27nd-January 22nd, has been expanded to highlight Roche’s contributions to the fabric of New York City, including the Ford Foundation building and more than four decades of master planning, design, renovations, and new additions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The exhibition features original drawings, models, photographs, and ephemera documenting Roche’s career, along with extensive video presentations of projects and interviews with the architect.

For more information on the event, visit their website here.

Courtesy of XV Studio

The Barcelona Ecological Center (BEC) is a proposal of XV Studio about the future of the Bullfight Plaza ‘Monumental’ in Barcelona, Spain. The concept is radical: Transforming the bullring into a center of research and leisure regarding to environmentally friendly activities, especially the ones that respect and take care of animals. In other words, to use all the elements that already exist now in the ring to be reused in the opposite way. More images and architects’ description after the break. read more »

© Kyle Beneventi

Right outside of Rio de Janeiro lies Rocinha, the largest slum in South America. This informal settlement, first occupied by a community of farmers, has quickly developed into one of the most dense living situations on the planet. About half the size of Central Park in New York City, this favela is home to an estimated 150,000 people. With the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games both taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Rocinha will become a hot topic in the next few years. Due to its small size, this project by Kyle Beneventi proposes an urban strategy to make Rocinha a very walkable city, dealing principally with voids to break up the blanket of uniform building mass. More images and project description after the break. read more »

Courtesy of Comac

Should the Bohemian hotel be a vertical tower of 100 meter high? Or 100 meters long? Given the nature of the site, located in the gothic area, Comac proposed a horizontal design in the Plaza del Angels in front of the MACBA. Barret 001 is based on two fundamental principles: Firstly, to offer quality of life, enjoying the richness of the site by creating a public space and a sky floor over the Gothic area. The second objective is to create a shadow on the Plaza del Angels known for its burning heat. More images and architects’ description after the break. read more »