Alison Furuto
Grandola Library Proposal / ER Studio
The building of the Municipal Library and Archives Grândola by ER Studio aims to be a timeless reference, an icon that represents not only the past and present of the town of Grândola, but also their future ambitions. Their idea of the Monolith reminds us of the past buildings that have withstood the time, a library and an archive are nothing more than a large repository of knowledge that makes the bridge between past and present. More images and architects’ description after the break.
New Community Center / MoederscheimMoonen Architects
MoederscheimMoonen Architects recently won the competition for a new community center, ‘Het Anker’, in Zwolle, The Netherlands. The new building will include a multi-purpose sports hall for diverse sport activities and educational purposes, a community center, and diverse multifunctional areas. The design for the competition expresses the first ideas and intentions for a sustainable, transparent and green ‘landscaped’ building. More images and architects’ description after the break.
VMZinc Announces Winners of the Fifth Archizinc Trophy Awards
The 10 winners of the fifth VMZINC® Archizinc Trophy awards program, sponsored by the Umicore Group, were unveiled this month at the Terrass Kardinal in Paris. The bi-annual competition for architects requires that the submitted designs use VMZINC solutions in original projects. VMZINC is the international rolled zinc products brand manufactured and marketed by Umicore Building Products USA, headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. Winners included six projects in the categories “Private Housing,” “Commercial Buildings,” and “Public Buildings”. More information on the winners after the break.
The Cube in London / Park Associati
The Cube, a nomadic, stateless and cosmopolitan piece of architecture designed by Park Associati, is a pavilion designed to host a small, temporary restaurant. Originating from Electrolux’s concept of an itinerant restaurant, The Cube has been conceived and organized by the Belgian event agency Absolute Blue with the logo and texture design by Studio FM Milano. Their architectural project has been conceived as a module that can be assembled and disassembled relatively easily. The structure, which will be on exhibit in London until September 30, is suitable for all climatic conditions, even the most extreme, while always providing the maximum in living comfort with its refined aesthetics and use of high-quality materials. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Deinze Town Hall & Administrative Center / Tony Fretton Architects
The design for a new 7,500 sqm Deinze Town Hall & Administrative Center, designed by Tony Fretton Architects, sets the administrative accommodation in a 5-storey reconfigurable loft building and the council chamber as a projecting double height room, with the public entrance foyer below. Commissioned by the City of Deinze following an international competition held in 2009, the building accommodates Deinze’s municipal departments, offices for the mayor and aldermen together with a new council chamber. The project is set to begin construction in early 2013. More images and architects’ description after the break.
2012 World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize
World Monuments Fund (WMF) is inviting nominations for the 2012 World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize. The prize will be awarded to a design professional or firm in recognition of innovative design solutions that preserved or saved a modern landmark at risk. Established in 2008, the goal is to raise public awareness of the contribution modernism makes to contemporary life and the important and influential role that architects and designers play in preserving modern heritage. Nominated projects should have enhanced a site’s architectural, functional, economic, and environmental sustainability while benefiting the community, and must have been completed in 2007 or after. Nominations must be submitted by July 31, 2012. More information on the competition after the break.
‘residence NEXT’ International Design Workshop
The architectural scene in Kerala, India is in its volatile best and hence the right time to breed path breaking design concepts in new age residential design. In this directionless period, the ‘residence NEXT’ workshop, put on by Indian Institute of Architects, Thrissur Center and The Architects Club, Thrissur, aims to spawn a few design thoughts that could be the guiding force for the future. Taking place September 27-29 at KT Muhammed Memorial Regional Theatre, students and young architects will be selected from all over the world based on their portfolios. For more information and how to apply, please visit their website here.
Videos: London Olympics 2012 Time Lapse
This post features time lapses of the construction of various venues that will be hosting the 2012 London Olympics. With the opening ceremony Friday, July 27, these construction time lapses give you an inside look to all of the effort put into the games. If you get a chance to watch the games, you will now have a new found appreciation for the amount of work it takes to hold a major event such as this. More videos after the break.
2012 AIM Architecture Competition
The Architects in Missions (AIM) recently launched their 2012 architecture competition with the topic, “Shengsi Islands: Renewing China’s Traditional Village Lifestyle.” In setting their sights upon the eastern gate of China: Shengsi Islands, participants are challenged in guiding the island villages toward a diversified economy through sustainable tourism development. Over the course of this society’s development, the unique fishing village, its products, and its lifestyle, represent a cultural resource that cannot be replicated. With the premise of helping the local population of the Shengsi Islands integrate into modern life, how can the ecology and residential environment of this archipelago be protected? The submission deadline is August 31. For more information, please visit here.
HOME Design Competition
With less than a week left to register, the HOME design competition, hosted by Building Trust International, seeks to find well designed homes for the elderly or homeless within some of the World’s richest countries. The growing rate in single occupancy households has led to increased numbers of young and elderly people affected by poverty being forced to live in substandard living conditions & in the worst cases sleeping rough. They We are asking designers, engineers, architects and house builders to provide a solution to the housing crisis by offering sustainable, affordable small homes that give those that are alienated or marginalized within society a safe place to live. For more information, please visit here.
Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak 40th Anniversary Exhibition / Situ Fabrication
Situ Fabrication was hired by MA3 Agency to engineer and build six display structures for Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak 40th Anniversary Exhibition. Designed by Sebastien Leon Agneessens, the structures, entitled ‘Fragments’, house a number of historic Audemars Piguet watches, media displays and a watchmaking workshop. The exhibition stops in New York City, Milan, Paris, Beijing, Singapore, and Dubai throughout the year. More images can be viewed in the gallery after the break.
Daegu Gosan Public Library Competition
As a main event of the 2012 Daegu Architectural Culture Biennale, the committee just launched the International Architectural Competition for a Public Library in Daegu, Korea. Open to all unregistered or registered architects and students of architecture schools from all over the world, the winning prize money for 1st place is USD $30,000 with the opportunity to join the further design development of the library after the competition. All participants must register by July 30 with submissions due September 10. For more information, please visit here.
Regeneration of the Forbidden City / WILCOTER Architects
In the invited competition launched by the Culture Relic Bureau of Nanjing, WILCOTER Architects envisioned an idea to regenerate the relics of the Forbidden City as a capital of the Ming Dynasty over six hundred years ago. In a city that needs a cultural symbol based on their own history, this proposal tries to regenerate an imperial axis, a special experience and atmosphere where people can never have chance to taste. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Shortlist Announced for the Redevelopment of the Quadrangle at Strand Campus
RIBA Competitions recently announced that six teams have now been selected to take part in the design stage of the competition for King’s College London to redevelop the Quadrangle at the historic Strand Campus in London. The shortlisted teams include: Barozzi Veiga Studio, Carme Pinos Studio, Eric Parry Architects, Hall McKnight, Henley Halebrown Rorrison, and Zaha Hadid Architects. Ian Caldwell, Director of Estates & Facilities at King’s, said: ‘We are very pleased with the variety and high standard of submissions and look forward to the development of an innovative, landmark design that will enhance the surrounding historic architecture’. More information on the competition after the break.
Helsinki South Harbour Competition Winners
The panel for the international Kirjava satama Ideas Competition unanimously decided to give four awards among the 201 entries with balanced overall solutions that were suitable to the cityscape; the entries also had especially interesting ideas for the development of different sections. Innovation and ideas were valued higher than the flawlessness of details. There was no single entry that would have attained all the goals of the competition in a way that was clearly superior. The entries Boegbeeld, Meren syleily, Stadi terassi and Tori received an award in the competition for the south harbour. More images and information on the winners after the break.
Wallpaper’s 2012 Architects Directory
Wallpaper magazine recently announced their 2012 Architects Directory which features some of the world’s most intriguing young practices that have made their way into the spotlight. More images and a complete list of the architects who made director can be viewed after the break.
‘The Interchange’ in Downtown Minneapolis / EE&K a Perkins Eastman Company + Knutson Construction
EE&K, a Perkins Eastman Company, and Knutson Construction were recently selected by Hennepin County for their design for ‘The Interchange’ in Downtown Minneapolis. The design-build contract for the $79.3 million transportation hub, which is expected to be completed by 2014, will connect transit with culture. Led by architect Peter Cavaluzzi FAIA, the multidisciplinary team envisions a state-of-the-art transit station with complementary mixed-used development and year-round activated public space. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Urban Redevelopment Project at Tainan Main Station Area / Maxthreads
The second prize winning vision for the Urban Redevelopment Project at Tainan Main Station Area responds to the extending aim of positioning Taiwan in general, and Tainan city in particular, as a major historical based tourism destination. Designed by Maxthreads, their strategy attempts to contribute to Taiwan’s economic diversification from its current infrastructure lead planning system. More images and architects’ description after the break.
‘Honey Scape’ Landscape Pavilion / Gonçalo Castro Henriques X-REF
Built after winning an international landscape competition at Ponte Lima, Portugal, Honey Scape is temporary landscape pavilion by Gonçalo Castro Henriques of X-REF. This installation intends to shelter the visitor, captivating him by a dream-like atmosphere with aromatic plants. This atmosphere is defined by a light and transparent structure, based on a honeycomb, creating a dynamic of light and color throughout the day. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Archipelago Mobile / Kyung Jae Kim, Gregory Haley, Suah Na, Heejoo Shi, and Halley Tsai
Archipelago Mobile, a master plan proposal by Kyung Jae Kim, Gregory Haley, Suah Na, Heejoo Shi, and Halley Tsai, attempts to address and enhance the city of Helsinki. Known as a city ‘in-between’, their design envisions a revitalized South Harbor district, configured to mediate between land and water uses, resident and tourist amenities, port traffic and pedestrian space. By weaving these often competing requirements together in ways that not only allow but enhance their co-existence, they present an integrated model for postindustrial waterfront development in general, and a unique vision for a dynamic cultural district in the heart of the city. More images and architects’ description after the break.
CLOG: National Mall – Call for Submissions
CLOG is currently seeking submissions for its fifth issue, CLOG: National Mall, which will be published in November 2012. In an election year when America is debating and deciding its trajectory, it’s time to critically discuss the space that perhaps more than any other reflects what the nation was, is, and wants to be – the National Mall. Visited annually by approximately thirty million people, the Mall is also a victim of its own success as its grounds and monuments have been steadily eroded by overcrowding in addition to budgetary and administrative pressures. Submissions are due on July 20, 2012 by midnight. For more information, please visit their website here.
