Alison Furuto
National and University Library / Studio Kalamar
Designed by Studio Kalamar, the proposal for the National and University Library in Ljubljana, Slovenia connects itself to the urban fabric of the square in a clear, but quiet fashion. As the dynamic volume mimics the dynamic surrounding environment, an atrium is created between, thus introverting the urban energies into a peaceful atmosphere appropriate for studying, which is surrounded by a cloister, vertically repeated four times. The program is comprised of four program units: free access library, storage and archive facilities, work units – expert library services, and the archaeological heritage of Roman Emona. Emona lies beneath the surface level, so the three remaining units are used as the base for volume composition. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Kwidzyn Old Town Housing Proposal / Perspektywa
The second prize winning design by Perspektywa for the Kwidzyn Old Town Housing Units in Poland answers to the competition challenge with their modern architecture with classic elements. Doing so provides a dialogue between the historical surroundings and creating a new image of Kwidzyn city. They achieved that aim by analyzing the existing and historical urban grid of the city, archival documentation, using proper scale, proportions and characteristic triple axis facades. More images and architects’ description after the break.
“Considering the Quake | Seismic Design on the Edge” Exhibition
Opening September 12, the Design Exchange in Downtown Toronto will be the site of the newest exhibit titled “Considering the Quake | Seismic Design on the Edge,” curated by Dr. Effie Bouras, postdoctoral fellow and Professor Ghyslaine McClure, P.Eng of the McGill University Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics. The exhibit, which runs through to November 9, will feature recent cutting edge building projects from some of the most innovative architects and engineers, as seen through the lens of earthquake engineering. More information on the exhibition after the break.
House Awards 2012
Celebrating Australia’s best residential architecture, excellence has been rewarded by ‘House Awards’, an annual program, in eight categories, with the best architecturally designed house receiving the premier award of ‘Australian House of the Year’. Set within a historic farming property in Tasmania, Shearer’s Quarters by John Wardle Architects, won the house of the year award which is both a working farm and a place of retreat. ‘This deft touch has created a house that is an exemplar for contemporary residential architecture, simultaneously functional and beautiful. This apparently simple house has an effortless relationship to the built, cultivated and natural landscape.’ (House Awards Jury) More information on the awards after the break.
adAPT NYC Request for Proposals
The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) is inviting developers to submit proposals for a new construction project in Kips Bay, Manhattan. Developing housing that meets the needs of how New Yorkers live today is critical to the City’s future economic success. Currently, the City’s housing stock is misaligned with the changing demographics of its population. There are 1.8 million one- and two-person households (more than 60 percent of New York City households) and only one million studios and one-bedrooms to meet this housing demand. According to the 2010 Census, the growth rates of the one- and two-person household populations exceed the growth rate of households with three or more people. adAPT NYC seeks to create additional choice within New York City’s housing market. Submissions are due no later than September 14 with a pre-submission conference to be held on July 31. To register and for more information, please visit here.
‘A Long-Awaited Tribute: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian House and Pavilion’ Exhibition
In 1953, six years before the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum opened to the public, two of his structures—a pavilion and model Usonian house—were built on the future site of the museum to house a temporary exhibition displaying the architect’s lifelong work. From July 27, 2012, to February 13, 2013, the Sackler Center for Arts Education at the Guggenheim Museum will present A Long-Awaited Tribute: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian House and Pavilion, an exhibition comprised of selected materials from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Archives, highlighting the first Wright buildings erected in New York City. Text Courtesy of: The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation (SRGF). More information on the exhibition after the break.
Memorial to the Abolition of Slavery / Wodiczko + Bonder
Located along the Loire riverfront in the center of the city of Nantes, this memorial, designed by Wodiczko + Bonder, is a metaphorical and emotional evocation of the struggle for the abolition of slavery. With the aim of being above all historic, the project still continues into the present and proposes a physical transformation and symbolic reinforcement of 350 meters of the coast of the Loire along Quai de la Fosse. This working memorial includes the adaptation of a pre-existing underground residual space, a product of the construction of the Loire embankments and port during the XVIII, XIX, and XX Centuries. It provides space and means for remembering and thinking about slavery and the slave trade; commemorating resistance and the abolitionist struggle; celebrating the historic act of abolition; and for bringing the visitor closer to the continuing struggle against present-day forms of slavery. More images and architects’ description after the break.
College of Engineering and Applied Sciences Building for Nanjing University / HDR
HDR was recently chosen by Nanjing University to provide conceptual and schematic design services, as well as a masterplan, for its new College of Engineering and Applied Sciences building. The facility will house four academic departments (material science and engineering; quantum electronics and optical engineering; biomedical engineering; and energy science and engineering), six interdisciplinary research centers, a state-of-the-art conference center, as well as common areas for student and faculty gatherings. The building, which is expected to be completed in 2014, will be over 650,000 square feet and accommodate more than 1,600 students and faculty on a daily basis. More architects’ description after the break.
Columbia Boulevard Wastewater Treatment Support Facility / Skylab Architecture
Located in Portland, Oregon, the Columbia Boulevard Wastewater Treatment Support Facility will provide offices for the Bureau of Environmental Services engineering and construction management staff. Designed by Skylab Architecture with the intent of fostering collaboration, the new 11,490 square-foot building will blend open office and shared workspaces with small meeting spaces and large conference rooms, video conference areas, and a training facility. The building is designed to be certified at the LEED Gold level, a result in part due to the City of Portland’s Green Building Policy. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Destination Forus / MAD Architects
Designed by MAD Architects, Destination Forus is intended to be a clear, robust and effective masterplan to become an exclusive commercial district, both in form and function, which radically differentiates itself from the surrounding building fabric. Increased density and urbanity on one side is juxtaposed against the openness of Forus Park on the other. This sustainable commercial development includes good housing areas, an efficient infrastructure, an abundance of wildlife and agricultural areas, and forests and green fields. They are creating a place that is worthy of a strong identity. More images and architects’ description after the break.
CYC Students Residence University / EKKY Studio
The first prize winning proposal for the CYC Students Residence University by EKKY Studio is an affordable student housing complex close to the university of Cyprus, in the Aglantzia area of Nicosia. Through their research, a new building typology was explored which can house 70-76 students and can potentially create public facilities for the students of the neighboring properties, aiming at creating a contemporary student housing hub. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Ethiopian Airlines New Headquarters / Söhne & Partner + BET Architects
In cooperation with BET architects from Ethiopia, Söhne & Partner shared with us their winning proposal in the international design competition for Ethiopian Airlines New Headquarters in Addis Ababa. Their design is intended to address the need of the airline’s growth, dynamic operation and attaining its Vision-2025. The landscape, being an important part of the interior design, is flowing through and underneath the building. The office blocks are cantilevered above the street level as a floating form to represent the mountains, canyons or rocks. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Chromatic Screen / Like Architects
Designed and constructed by Like Architects for the 2012 Oporto Show, the Chromatic Screen installation is an intervention representative of their ephemeral work that lies on the border between architecture, design, urban installation and art. The installation is designed using about 2,000 hangers for children’s clothes from IKEA – ‘Bagis’ -, in four different colors – blue, green, pink and orange – that merge into multiple tonalities. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Flashback: Signal Box / Herzog & de Meuron
Architects: Herzog & de Meuron
Location: Basel, Switzerland
Project Year: 1994
Photographs: Nelson Garrido
”The Importance of the Way Stories are Being Told” eBook
Following the debate “Communication and Bottom-UP. The importance of the way stories are being told.” dpr-barcelona is committed to expand the debates and conversations avoiding them to get lost after a few days of the event. With this motivation, they published a digital-pamphlet [kindle + ePub] exploring the thought and ideas of thinkers and doers; articulated by simple detonating questions posed through emails, tweets and conversations intending to communicate effectively the very essence of the debate: “the importance of telling stories.” This digital pamphlet is a starting point for a open and written debate were everyone can also sum opinions: Those interested in responding will be able to add more contents using Booki, which is an open platform that allows to write collaborative books and even generating a very personal version. To download the book for kindle [.mobi] and ePub format, please visit here. Text courtesy of dpr-barcelona.
Ninotsminda Border Checkpoint / Luka Machablishvili
The Border Checkpoint Terminal in Ninotsminda, Georgia is a modern two storied building with a total area of 1.78 hectares and is located between the old custom building and border. Designed by Luka Machablishvili, the project considers all modern and necessary requirements, both in visual and functional terms, which will make for maximum comfort for consumers. More images and architects’ description after the break.
[CASABLANCA] Sustainable Market Square Competition
Video: London & UK RedBall
This summer, New York artist Kurt Perschke brought his celebrated art project RedBall to the UK. Co-produced by Torbay Council and The Dartington Hall Trust, it arrived on the streets of the English Riviera in Torbay in June before touring to Plymouth, Exeter, Weymouth & Portland and London, finishing the tour at Dartington Hall and popping up in a total of 20 sites. The project engaged thousands of people on its tour of alleyways, underpasses, high streets, town squares, heritage sites and bridge arches across the country. Alongside the tour, the RedBall UK education project worked with hundreds of young people and staff in 5 schools to raise the aspirations and achievements of Year 6 pupils. Text Courtesy of Danny Cooke. For more information on RedBall UK, please visit here.
Oudenaarde Sports Complex / Koppert + Koenis Architects
Koppert + Koenis Architects were recently announced as winner of the competition by the Flemish Government with their contribution for a double sports accommodation in Oudenaarde, Belgium. The sports complex will facilitate the sports education of the local primary and secondary schools during the day and local sports clubs during the evening hours. The jury was charmed by the clear setup and the optimal sports and teaching facilitating design resulting in simplicity and a realistic integration with its surroundings. More images and architects’ description after the break.
DAF: Designing for Adaptable Futures Proposal / Ravaglia, Rodrigues, Philot, Marx, Mendonça, Novaes
Designed by Fabiano Ravaglia, Liebert Rodrigues, Vinícius Philot, Fernanda Marx, Tiago Mendonça, and Karen Novaes, the DAF: Designing for Adaptable Futures competition proposal focuses on expansion and flexibility to create a new way of thinking about Brazilian social housing. Based on practices developed by the low-income residents of the social housings of Rio, the team objective is to formulate a set of strategies that could enable and encourage the expansion of housing but in a neatly way. By taking advantage of the existing structure and implantation and inside the constructive knowledge of the population, this will allow the enlargement when it suits them. More images and architects’ description after the break.
International Mock Firms Skyscraper Competition Proposal / ANDO | Andalucía Office
ANDO | Andalucía Office, composed by five young architects from the University of Seville, shared with us their 2nd prize winning proposal in the Fourth edition of the “International Mock Firms Skyscraper Competition” organized by Chicago Architecture Today. Their concept, which focused on versatility, let to their NODO project, a tower over 550 meters in Beijing. The most innovative architectural idea of the project is based on the possibility of a constantly changing skyscraper. It is all about developing a mutant vertical city building possibility, which answers to its time, place and inhabitants requirements. More images and architects’ description after the break.
