An “Ice Breaker” is a colloquial term used to connote something that relieves inhibitions or breaks the tension between people. In Toronto, Ice Breakers is an annual international design competition for innovative public works that break up the dreary, seemingly endless winter with engaging, colorful, and humorous installations along the city’s waterfront that encourage spontaneous interaction.

Now in its second year, the 2018 exhibition is produced in partnership between Ports Toronto and the Waterfront BIA to bring five unique structures to life around the theme of “Constellation.” Proposals from enlarged bears inspired by the Ursa Major constellation to giant wind chimes were among those selected from hundreds of entries from all around the world, now on view until February 25.

See all five winning installations below.

OVO Grąbczewscy Architekci's stacked garden-like proposal has been awarded third place in a competition for the new Małopolska Science Center in Krakow, Poland. The competition brief asked for the design of an innovative cultural institution with an iconic architectural form that would represent creativity, openness and independent thinking. As a reflection of both the city and the region, the center is also intended to provide a model for sustainable construction, energy efficiency, and education that inspires immersive visitor engagement.

See the complete design below.

From the greystone of Montreal to the limestone of Jerusalem, every city has its own iconic identity read through the city’s urban fabric. Scanning the architecture of the 1,110-year-old German town of Nördlingen, the timber frame homes, red pitched roofs, and winding streets appear identical in almost every regard to many quaint medieval communities populating the European countryside.

While the town’s appearance in the 1971 classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory may seem like its most notable claim, there is something entirely unique about the architecture of this south German locale. Nördlingen is literally made of diamonds—millions of microscopic diamonds to be exact—with the town itself constructed within an ancient impact crater.

Homelessness is a pressing issue faced by many cities across the globe. But, could the logistics of parking potentially assist in alleviating this epidemic by supporting community-based initiatives?

In Los Angeles County, where an estimated 58,000 people are homeless, city and county officials recently released six meters designed in collaboration between community advocacy organization the Flintridge Centre and the office of City Council member Jose Huizar to collect charitable contributions as opposed to parking fairs.

Multidisciplinary firm DFA unveil their vision for the future of New York City's Pier 40, re-imagined as an innovative mixed-use district of commerce, recreation, and affordable housing. The self-initiated proposal by the New York-based studio would transform the existing 15-acre pier by revitalizing deteriorating infrastructure while maintaining the popular recreation area and soccer field on the site.

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Danish firm Dorte Mandrup A/S has been announced as the winners of a competition to design the new Trilateral Wadden Sea World Heritage Partnership Center on a historic UNESCO naval site in Wilhelmshaven, Germany. Selected from 14 entries, the firm’s winning proposal will seemingly float atop an existing World War II bunker and house the offices of a joint Danish, German and Netherlandish corporation working to protect the Wadden Sea area.

European modular container and building producer Ryterna modul has announced the winners of their fourth International competition: Architectural Challenge 2018 Tiny House. The competition asked for the design of a home for two people no larger than 25 square meters that integrated a kitchen, bathroom, living room, and sleeping area into a cohesive environment. With 150 projects from 88 countries, the three winning solutions and one honorable mention turn micro dwelling into a luxury.

See all the winning entries below.

Construction continues on the undulating, futuristic 365 meter-tall Küçük Çamlıca TV (KCTV) Tower which is designed by MELIKE ALTINISIK ARCHITECTS in Istanbul, Turkey. The new telecommunications tower will replace several drab structures currently in use and support an estimated 125 broadcasting transmitters—becoming the tallest edifice in the city.

Viennese firm Zechner & Zechner has been announced as the winners of the competition for the new landmark complex NeuBau3—a mixed-use district at Peter-Behrens-Platz in Linz, Austria—after a unanimous decision by the jury. The proposed structure will complete the existing site of German architect and designer Peter Behrens' modernist Tabakfabrik Linz, a tobacco factory built between 1929 and 1935.

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The High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia has announced that award-winning New York-based Selldorf Architects have been selected to develop a large-scale reinstallation of the institution’s galleries in collaboration with the museum staff. The renovation will encompass all seven of the collection areas—from Photography and European Art to Decorative Arts and Design—while emphasizing visitor experience, contemporary narratives, and the strengths of the Museum’s holdings to create a cohesive experience thats deepens engagement inside the Richard Meier and Renzo Piano-designed complex.

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