From 159 submissions, 44 have emerged as winners of the NZIA's 2015 Auckland Architecture Awards. The titles were bestowed upon 20 firms for new projects spanning 10 categories, ranging from a restrained renovation of a historic building in a Victorian neighborhood, to a bold, modern transportation hub. This year's awards were grounded in three main areas of the city, with Britomart dominating in hospitality and retail designs, Hobsonville Point receiving educational and multi-unit housing awards, and Titirangi gaining recognition for its stellar public architecture and housing.
The winning projects will be considered for the highest honor in the NZIA's awards program, the New Zealand Architecture Awards, which will be announced in November. See the full list of winners after the break.
In the spirit of their popular London series, Polish studio Zupagrafika has designed another set of paper cut-out models, entitled "Eastern Block." The series highlights Warsaw'smodernist architecture, ranging from the quintessentially functional (Rotunda PKO) to regionally recognized works (Za Żelazną Bramą, Smolna 8, Mokotów) and a prefabricated block on the city's outskirts (Tarchomin).
"There are far, far more basic things - health, education, housing, and so on - but the thing that we try to communicate [...] is that we need to better articulate how design can improve those truly basic human needs."
Improvisational Theatre / Žilvinas Stasiulevičius. Image Courtesy of OISTAT
Out of 197 entries from 38 countries, six proposals have been chosen as the winners of the 2015 OISTAT Theatre Architecture Competition, which sought proposals for a floating theatre that could be moved to different locations along the Spree River in Germany. The ideas competition was organized by OISTAT (International Organization of Scenographers, Technicians, and Theatre Architects), and the winning proposals will be showcased at the exhibition Stage│Set│Scenery in Berlin in June.
Per the competition requirements, the floating theatre proposals accommodate audiences of up to 300 people with a backstage area for 20 or fewer performers. The performance space remains moored on the river, while the foyer, restrooms, and refreshments are housed in a temporary structure on land that can be moved when necessary.
With a record number of entries, the 2015 Canterbury Awards, organized by the New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA), honored 25 Canterbury-based designs spanning 10 categories. The esteemed awards recognize and promote projects that are exceptionally sensitive to both their environment and occupants. Prevalent in this year's awards was the theme of rebuilding, as several projects were realized despite earthquakes impeding their construction, resulting in innovative designs that adapted to the unforeseen setbacks.
Among 2015's top recipients are Warren and Mahoney with six awards, and Sheppard & Rout and Athfield Architects, whose work garnered four and three honors, respectively. All of the winning projects will compete for the NZIA's highest recognition in the awards program, the New Zealand Architecture Awards, to be announced in early November. See the full list of winning projects after the break.
The Copper Development Association (CDA) has announced its selections for the 2015 North American Copper in Architecture Awards (NACIA), now in their eighth year. The awards celebrate stellar projects that incorporate copper in their designs. The 12 award-winning works span three categories and include educational, residential and healthcare buildings in addition to historic landmarks.
Winners were selected by a panel of industry professionals based on their overall design, incorporation and treatment of copper, and distinction in either innovation or historic restoration.
"It's amazing how resilient our society is, and that resiliency includes architecture. It's resilient in terms of the society, it's resilient economically, and that's a really good thing."
A team from Bristol-based firm PLACE By Design has been selected as the winner of Building Trust International’sCool School Design Competition, beating out 475 other entrants. Located in Khovd, Mongolia, the project presents an innovative educational space that integrates existing facilities and is capable of withstanding the region’s extreme weather patterns.
Inspired to update the substandard conditions of an existing school at the base of the Mongol Altai Mountains, the team was faced with several challenges. The current Tsast Altai School is the oldest in the region, serving 500 children in eight dark, confined, and decaying classrooms. To counter these issues and create an environment more suitable for learning, the competition challenged participants to not only consider the building's durability in the harsh weather, but also “lighting, ventilation, materials, space, comfort, accessibility, adaptability and aesthetics.”
Starting June 10, the RIBA will present The Brutalist Playground - an exhibition that is part sculpture, part architectural installation, which invites people of all ages to come and play, the Brutalist way. Occupying the entire Architecture Gallery, the immersive landscape is a new commission by Turner Prize nominated design and architecture collective Assemble and artist Simon Terrill. It explores the abstract concrete playgrounds that were designed as part of Brutalist housing estates in the mid-twentieth century, but which no longer exist. They became playgrounds unsuitable for play.
From a shortlist of 68 buildings, 38 London projects have been awarded the 2015 RIBA LondonAwards for architectural excellence, the city's most prestigious design honor. The awards highlight projects that embody exceptional merit in their designs and positively impact the lives of their occupants. This year's winners include three arts and leisure buildings, 11 educational and community facilities, 16 residential designs, and eight commercial buildings.
All of these designs will be further considered for the RIBA National Awards, to be announced in June.
LYCS Architecture has won a competition to design urban headquarters for the Zhejiang Printing Group. Dubbed "The Corner of Hangzhou," their proposal is informed by the surrounding cultural context, and the distinctive highrise creates both a habitable thoroughfare and a landmark for the city.
ADEPT and Mandaworks have been declared the winners of a design competition for an urban development in the Kolkajen-Ropsten area of Stockholm's Royal Seaport. Dubbed the “Royal Neighbour,” the masterplan is anticipated to provide more than 12,000 new homes, supply 35,000 jobs in the next two decades, and create a new cultural area.
The College of Charleston is now accepting abstracts for its upcoming symposiumSuffragette City: Gender, Politics, and the Built Environment. Exploring the convergence of these topics throughout history, the interdisciplinary event aims to inspire new research that examines how both past and present efforts have challenged customary gender roles and impacted the physical, social, and conceptual identities of cities. The deadline for paper proposals, which must be 300 words or fewer, is July 1, 2015. For more information or to submit a topic, visit arthistory.cofc.edu.
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Houzz have announced the winners of their Future of Architecture Residential Design Contest and Showcase. Receiving entries from students and emerging architects around the world, the competition highlights prominent approaches to residential architecture in an effort to both recognize the work of young professionals and inform viewers about the worth of “good design.”
The winners emerged within five design categories and were chosen by Houzz’s extensive community of subscribers. To jumpstart their careers, the winners will receive prizes tailored to professional advancement, including participation in an upcoming community revitalization project and expenses-paid attendance to the 2015 AIA National Convention in Atlanta. See all of the winners after the break.
Rethinking Biotope / Kyriaki Goti and Nikolaos Xenos. Image Courtesy of IS ARCH
IS ARCH has unveiled the winners of the fifth edition of its ISARCH Awards for architecture students. From a vast pool of submissions, three were selected by the combined evaluations of a jury and public opinion. The international competition promotes the efforts of young designers and encourages dialogue among students and emerging architects by showcasing work undertaken through university curricula. The winners will receive prizes ranging in value from €1,000 to €3,000.
Learn more about the winning projects after the break.
Sunlay Design Group's latest endeavor is a modern shopping center with heavy ties to China’s ancient cultural influences. Inspired by classical dragon mythology and the principles of feng shui, the Chengde Tianshan Retail Center will offer the Hebei province a mixed-use shopping experience that fuses contemporary form with traditional methodology. Construction is set to begin this summer.
Courtesy of the American Institute of Architecture Students
The AIAS has launched Studio Culture: reviewed, a supplemental survey to their campaign investigating the learning environments of architecture studios. Following the accidental deaths of several students due to sleep deprivation in 2000, the organization dedicated its resources to studying the unhealthy lifestyles associated with studios. Their work culminated in a 2002 report endorsing change that was adopted by the NAAB. Studio Culture: reviewed poses questions related to students’ welfare while enrolled in architecture programs. The results will contribute to an ongoing assessment of realized improvements since the initial study. Open now through May 25, 2015, the survey welcomes current architecture students and recent alumni (within a year of graduation), and can be accessed here.
Gottlieb Paludan Architects have been selected as the winners of an anonymous two-stage competition to design a new biomass unit at the Amagerværket power plant in Denmark. The combined heat and power unit (CHP), dubbed BIO4, will power the facility with biofuel, upholding local efforts to make Copenhagen the world’s first CO2-neutralcapital by 2025.
_Arch_Press_Archive_RIBA_Library_Photographs_Collection.jpg?1432159232 "Park Hill Estate, Sheffield - 1962. Image © Arch Press Archive RIBA Library Photographs Collection")
_John_Maltby__RIBA_Library_Photographs_Collection_(1).jpg?1432159169 "Churchill Gardens - 1956. Image © John Maltby RIBA Library Photographs Collection")
