Along with engineers G.O.C. and Cabanelas Castelo Architects, Foster + Partners have won an international competition to design a new high-speed rail station in the city of Ourense in Galicia, located in northwestern Spain. The winning proposal integrates transport infrastructure with a new urban park, providing a large public space that will open up a series of pedestrian links to connect the districts divided by the track.
For those of you still in search for some last minute gift ideas, we present to you part three of the 2011 ArchDaily Holiday Gift Guide. We hope this provides you with that last bit of inspiration to finish your holiday shopping. In case you missed our previous guides, view Part One and Part Two for more gift ideas that is guaranteed to please any architect.
Sitting near the southern boundary of Foresterhill at the edge of the Westburn field, Snohetta’s plans for Maggie’s Cancer Care Center at the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary is envisioned as a pavilion within the parkland. The facilities will be mainly on the ground floor with a mezzanine area for office functions.
The Elizabeth Montgomerie Foundation (EMF) and Maggie’s are raising £3m in an attempt to bring a Maggie’s Center to Foresterhill Hospital in Aberdeen to provide for the families of Grampian. Aberdeen is Scotland’s third largest caner treatment center but is the only clinical center in Scotland not supported by Maggie’s.
MAXXI, MoMA and their new Chilean partner CONSTRUCT have kicked off the 2012 edition of YAP MAXXI, following this past summer’s successful first edition named WHATAMI by stARTT. Together the U.S. and Italian jury chose five finalists, from the 43 invited designers, who may still have the opportunity to reinvent the square of MAXXI in Rome. The winners of both YAP MAXXI in Rome and MoMA PS1 in New York will be announced in February and the installations will launch simultaneously in June 2012.
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is set to announce Cornell University and its partner, the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, winner of the intense, yearlong competition to build a New York City Tech Campus on Roosevelt Island. The announcement follows Stanford University’s unexpected withdraw from the competition after tense negotiations with the Bloomberg administration. Meanwhile, last Friday Cornell received a $350 million donation in support of their proposal, being the largest gift the University has ever received.
The Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) was commissioned by the Government Services Administration (GSA) to conduct a post-occupancy evaluation of 22 “green” federal buildings from across the United States. The report stats reveal that not only does these “green” buildings emit 34 percent less carbon dioxide and are using 11 percent less water, they cost on average 19 percent less to maintain. In addition to the environmental and economical savings, the evaluation reports that the occupants are more satisfied in the “green” buildings by 27 percent.
Continue reading for more information.
Dedicated to the life and work of Amancio d’Alpoim Guedes (Pancho Guedes), A Porcura De Pancho illustrates the journey of a solitary student exploring the city of Maputo in search of Pancho. The architect, sculptor and painter spent most of his life in Mozambique, where he designed more than 500 buildings.
In celebration of the 75th anniversary of Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home, studio and architectural campus in Scottsdale, Arizona, Phoenix Art Museum presents Frank Lloyd Wright: Organic Architecture for the 21st Century. The exhibit will explore Wright and his relevance today through a survey of more than 40 projects shown through rarely seen drawings, models, furniture, films and photographs.
The Arizona exhibit will be open to the public from December 18th, 2011 to April 29th, 2012 at the Steele Gallery in the Phoenix Art Museum.
After serving in the U.S. Air Force, Marshall founded The Marshall Group in 1982 and has a long history of providing services to the AIA. In the 1980’s, Marshall became the first African-American to attain board membership with the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS). Marshall is also an active member of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA).
Most of us have heard stories about the life of Frank Lloyd Wright, including the scandalous tale of his mistress Martha “Mamah” Cheney and the tragic murder that took place in their Wisconsin home. The legendary architect has also captured the attention of veteran filmmaker Bruce Beresford and producers J. Todd Harris and Ed Bachrach, as they have signed on to create a film about Frank Lloyd Wright entitled Taliesin.
Michael Graves has been chosen as the 2012 Driehaus Laureate, honoring his lifetime contributions to classical and traditional architecture in the modern world. The jury praised Graves for his “brilliant combinations of tradition and imagination” within his architecture and product design, stating that his deep understanding and respect of the past allows him to enrich the architectural process.
“Michael Graves has enhanced not just the architecture profession with his talent and scholarship, but everyday life itself through his inspiring attention to beautiful and accessible design,” says Michael Lykoudis, Driehaus Prize Jury Chair and Francis and Kathleen Rooney Dean of the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture. “The quality and scope of his work have enhanced how people work, live, and interact in public and private realms, making a profound impact on American life.”
View ArchDaily’s interview with Michael Graves here and continue reading for more information on the Driehaus Prize.
Chinese artist Ai Weiwei was selected as one of the runner-up candidates for TIMES 2011 Person of the Year Award. Ai Weiwei is known in the architecture world for his collaboration with Herzog & de Meuron, serving as the artistic consultant for the Beijing National Stadium, otherwise known as the Bird’s Nest stadium.
Charlie Rose discusses the story of the New York City High Line with Amanda Burden, director of the New York City Department of City Planning, Diane von Furstenberg, High Line contributor, Robert Hammond, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Friends of the High Line and Joshua David, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Friends of the High Line.
It began on December 17th, 2010, when 26-year-old street vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi drenched himself in paint thinner and lit a match in front of the provincial-capital building in Tunisia. Mannoubia Bouazizi stated, “My son set himself on fire for dignity.” Her 16-year-old daughter added, “In Tunisia, dignity is more important than bread.”
All over the world, the protestors of 2011 have stood-up for fairness and freedom. “Do-it-yourself democratic politics became globalized, and a real live protest went massively viral.” Authoritarian acts of violence and forceful evictions from “public” squares further exposed what the protestors were fighting for. In effort to honor the individuals who have made the greatest impact on our world during these past twelve months, TIME has named the 2011 person of the year as “The Protester”.
Biomineralization expert and Stanford scientist Brent Constantz has found a way to mimic the way coral builds reefs, by creating cement from carbon dioxide and water. Constantz was inspired to pursue this idea when he learned that for every ton of Portland cement produced a ton of carbon dioxide is emitted. The process in which Constantz is proposing actually removes carbon dioxide from the air. Constantz’s company, Calera, has a demonstration plant on California’s Monterrey Bay that uses waste CO2 gas from a local power plant and dissolves it into seawater to form carbonate, which mixes with calcium in the seawater and creates a solid.
The Recording Academy® has announced that architect Frank Gehry will create the official artwork for the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards. Traditional GRAMMY iconography will merge with Gehry’s distinct architectural style, creating the official artwork for the world’s premier music event, gracing the cover of the GRAMMY Awards program book, telecast tickets and promotional poster.
Olympic Park Legacy Company has announced the winners of two competitions that will transform the north park and south plaza at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. New York-based James Corner Field Operations’ proposal for a 50 acre urban landscape consisting of a tree-lined promenade connecting flexible event and cultural spaces was selected as the winning entry for the south plaza.
The north park winning proposal by London-based firm erect architecture consists of an imaginative community hub building that is integrated within the parkland and river valley. Along with community hub, the design proposes an interactive playground that inspires children to “climb trees, build dens and have everyday adventures in nature.”
Continue reading for the complete team list and their design proposal boards.
