As the Atlantic Cities best describes, “Leave it to Japan to turn one of the dirtiest and noisiest processes of the urban lifecycle – the demolition of highrises – into a neat, quiet and almost cute affair.”

Japanese construction company Taisei Corporation has discovered a new, more efficient way to disassemble, rather than demolish, a tall building over 100 meters. The process, known as Taisei’s Ecological Reproduction System or Tecorep, begins by transforming the structure’s top floors into an enclosed “cap”, which is then supported by temporary columns and powerful jacks. As demolition workers begin to disassemble the building from within, they use interior cranes to lower materials. After dismantling an entire floor, the jacks quietly lower the “cap” and the process is repeated.

“It’s kind of like having a disassembly factory on top of the building and putting a big hat there, and then the building shrinks,” says one Taisei engineer, according to this report in the Japan Times.

Learn about the advantages of this process after the break.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) have developed the Building Research Information Knowledgebase (BRIK), an interactive portal offering free online access to peer-reviewed research projects and case studies in all facets of the built environment, from pre-design through occupancy and reuse.

“By providing a portal to comprehensive research and data, this initiative is intended to help better educate the entire real estate marketplace on how design strategies and innovations can have a profound impact on building performance,” said AIA Chief Executive Officer, Robert Ivy, FAIA. “The BRIK offering is an entry-way to show quantifiable proof of evidence-based design approaches.”

Assemblage has succeeded against a prestigious shortlist – which included Zaha Hadid Architects, Capita Symonds, Fevre Gaucher and ADPI – in an international competition for the new Iraqi parliament complex in Baghdad. The $1Bn USD project challenged contestants to design a new, large scale complex amidst the remnants of a partially built super mosque planned by Saddam Hussein (photos of the existing site here).

The London-based practice will be awarded $250,000 USD and asked to produce a master plan for the surrounding city, as well as additional government buildings, a new hotel and public parks. The anonymous jury plans to exhibit the submitted projects, along with the judging committee’s decision. However, a date has yet to be announced.

Continue after the break for more images and the architects’ description.

Quickly rising on the corner of 14th Street and 5th Avenue in Manhattan, this new, multipurpose facility will soon become the “heart” of The New School – an avant-garde university in New York City. The University Center, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), combines all aspects of a traditional campus into a single, 16-story building, offering 200,000 square feet of academic space on the first seven floors and 150,000 square feet for a 600-bed dormitory on the levels above.

The brass-and-glass structure, which is the largest construction project in the university’s 91-year history in Greenwich Village, is scheduled for completion in 2014.

In progress images and more information after the break.

Richard Meier & Partners Architects is pleased to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Richard Meier’s prolific architecture career. In recognition of his contributions to architecture and in collaboration with very distinguished institutions, Richard Meier & Partners will be organizing several projects and events to honor this very significant anniversary. Currently on display at the Arp Museum Richard Meier: Building as Art is open to the general public, and the exhibition illustrates Meier’s complex design process using prominent buildings and projects from his entire work history.

In addition to the exhibition in Germany, and later in the summer, Richard Meier will be giving a series of lectures in Los Angeles, New York City and in Italy talking about some of the iconic, recent and current projects.

More on Richard Meier’s prolific career after the break.

Following the conclusion of David Chipperfield’s 2012 Venice Biennale, the British Pavilion has brought its investigations back to the UK to expand upon ten exceptional research projects that illustrate how architecture has shaped the culture and economy of countries around the world.

Should Amsterdam-style floating homes be built in London’s Docklands? Could the UK learn from Brazil’s successful identikit school-building program? Could Belfast be redeveloped by following a Berlin model? These are just some of the fascinating questions that will be addressed in a series of lectures, debates and events hosted by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in collaboration with the British Council and the Architectural Association.

Mark your calendars for the following special events, which will run from February 26 through April 27, 2013.

Ada Louise Huxtable (1921-2013), known as “the dean of American architectural criticism”, has passed away at the age of 91 at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan. Winner of the first Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, Huxtable began her legendary career when she was appointed as The New York Times’ first architecture critic in 1963. Her sharp mind and straightforward critiques paved the way for contemporary architectural journalism and called for public attention to the significance of architecture.

Marking the “continuance of Belgrade’s signature ‘Modernist’ movement”, which produced a number of iconic buildings throughout the mid-twentieth century, the Serbian capital is proud to unveil Zaha Hadid Architect’s (ZHA) contemporary masterplan for Beko. This all-inclusive, mixed use project embeds itself within the undulating topography of the abandoned Beko textile factory in a style that directly reflects Zaha’s distinct style of Parametricism.

Focused on urban regeneration, the project will join forces with Sou Fujimoto’s proposed ‘Cloud’ on the adjoining Sava waterfront to revitalize Belgrade’s cultural axis.

Learn more after the break.

Warming Huts, an open art and architecture competition on ice – has selected five huts that best “push the envelope of design, craft and art” for it’s 2013 edition. Selected from over 100 entries, these winning proposals will be constructed in January alongside the longest naturally frozen skating trail in the world: the Assiniboine Credit Union River Trail in Winnipeg, Canada.

Three of the huts were chosen from the open submission process, one from a separate University of Manitobacompetition, and one is being designed by award-winning Montreal firm Atelier Big City. Review them all after the break.

‘Soviet Modernism 1955 – 1991. Unknown Stories’ explores, for the first time comprehensively, the architecture of the non-Russian Soviet republics completed between the late 1950s and the end of the USSR in 1991. The research and exhibition project shifts the Russian-dominated perspective and focuses attention on the architecture of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Krygyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, The Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

More information after the break…

By popular vote on the architectural website Ashui.com, Vo Trong Nghia has been announced as Vietnam’s Architect of the Year 2012. The Quang Binh native was awarded over two other nominees after a four day public vote.

A graduate of Japan’s Nagoya Institute of Technology class of 2002, Vo Trong Nghia leads an award-wining, self-titled practice known for its intricate bamboo and sustainable structures.

View a selection of his work after the break.

In response an outrage that broke out amongst Democrats and Republicans, after House Speaker John Boehner failed to vote for Sandy relief before the end of the Congressional session two days ago, the House of Representatives have approved a $9.7 billion relief measure to aid flood victims of Hurricane Sandy. This is good news, as the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) recently warned that it would soon run out of funding if no measures were taken. Senate approval is likely to come later in the day and a second congressional vote is scheduled to take place on January 15 for a larger $51 billion request.

Understanding the importance of issuing this federal support, AIA President Mickey Jacob has offer Congress three key objects for helping these communities recover.

Read AIA President Jacob’s letter to congress and his three objectives after the break…

Singapore’s Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) is moving forward with its next phase of development and will soon construct a distinct new addition. The new S$5.5 million wing, designed by GreenhiLi Consultants, will be a stark contrast to the 19th-century, neoclassic original structure, as it features a modern structure clad in titanium that will float weightlessly above a glass encased atrium.

This atrium will continue up, filling the interstitial spaces between the old and new structure, while connecting the galleries on all three levels and revealing parts of the interior gallery to street-level pedestrians.

For decades, schools have slowly morphed into prison-like facilities with artificially lit rooms and barricaded playgrounds. However, the trend is beginning to shift. With a highlight on sustainable design, a focus on safety and an increased demand on positive learning environments, more people are paying attention to the way we design our schools.

In light of this, the University of Salford in Manchester and the architects of Nightingale Associates have released the results of a year-long pilot study revealing the significant impact well-designed learning environments have on a student’s academic achievement over a year, which is proven to be as much as 25 percent!

Professor Peter Barrett, School of the Built Environment, University of Salford said: “It has long been known that various aspects of the built environment impact on people in buildings, but this is the first time a holistic assessment has been made that successfully links the overall impact directly to learning rates in schools. The impact identified is in fact greater than we imagined and the Salford team is looking forward to building on these clear results.”

More on the study after the break…

Breaking news from Tel Aviv: The Wolf Foundation has announced that Pritzker Prize laureate Eduardo Souto de Moura will be honored with Israel’s prestigious Wolf Prize. The Portuguese architect was named “to reward his advancement of the craft and ideas of architecture.”

Since 1978, Wolf recipients have been annually award to honor those who have advanced the fields of art and science. Often, they are considered to be strong contenders for Nobel prizes, as about one out of every three laureates in chemistry, physics and medicine have gone to receive the Nobel.

Learn more after the break…

Merging the work of architects, engineers, manufacturers, product designers, academics and artists, Prototyping Architecture explores the importance of prototypes in the delivery of high quality contemporary design. The exhibition, which runs at The Building Centre from January 11 to March 20, places an emphasis on research and experimentation to illustrate how trial assemblies can inform architecture with maquettes, models and full-scale sample productions on show from around the world.

Professor Michael Stacey, Director of Architecture at the University of Nottingham stated: “Prototyping Architecture celebrates vital methods of design development with new technologies that potentially herald the beginning of a second industrial revolution. The exhibition forms a bridge between architecture, engineering and art – with exhibits that are truly beautiful.”

More on Prototyping Architecture after the break.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) today issued the following statement in reaction to the House and Senate votes approving the “Fiscal Cliff” deal negotiated by Congressional leaders earlier this week. The statement should be attributed to AIA President Mickey Jacob, FAIA:

“On the plus side, the agreement prevents a tax increase on millions of Americans and small businesses. It also extends several business tax incentives that help create jobs and promote design and construction, including for schools and energy efficient homes.”

More after the break…

Eleven Zaha Hadid projects are currently being constructed in China, however one of them has the international architecture mogul seeing double. Unfortunately, Hadid has found herself in a race to finish the Wangjing SOHO office and retail complex in Beijing before pirates complete their doppelgänger version in Chongqing, a megacity near the eastern edge of the Tibetan plateau.

As reported on Spiegel Online, the Dame claimed that the pirates are currently in the lead and building faster than SOHO. The original, which is set for completion in 2014, features three curved towers whose “shimmering”, metallic skin unifies the complex as each volume appears to “dance” around each other.

Hadid is not the first to be mimicked in China. Last year, a small UNESCO-protected village in Austria, Hallstatt, was recreated, brick for brick, in the subtropical district of Guangdong, China. You can find the complete story here.