Karissa Rosenfield
BIG Unveils Design for Miami Beach Convention Center
BIG has collaborated with West 8, Fentress, JPA and developers Portman CMC to challenge an OMA- and South Beach ACE-lead team in the 52-acre Miami Beach Convention Center overhaul. With a mission to “bring Miami Beach back to the Convention Center,” BIG’s newly unveiled proposal aims to transform the “dead black hole of asphalt in the heart of one of the most beautiful and lively cities in America” into an archipelago of urban oases made up of paths, plazas, parks and gardens, which will all lead to the heart of the plan: the Miami Beach Square. This tropical centerpiece will become the front door to the convention center and the convention hotel, as well as the front lawn to a revitalized Jackie Gleason Theatre, a town square for the city hall, an outdoor arena for the Latin American Cultural Museum, and the red carpet for the big botanical ball room.
More images and the teams description after the break…
Video: One World Trade Center Tops Out
Caution: This video may induce vertigo.
As the final segment of the One World Trade Center was hoisted into position – topping the structure out at a patriotic 1,776 feet – Curbed NY captured its journey via a small Go-Pro camera to reveal its fascinating, and somewhat nauseating, view of Manhattan.
While the US rejoices this monumental feat, a debate amongst architects, engineers and city officials lingers on whether or not the 408-foot spire will count towards the One WTC’s overall height and allow it to officially claim its title as the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. Although the Port Authority argues that the spire doubled as a radio antenna is considered as non-essential telecom equipment and therefore should not be considered as part of the “architectural top”, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat will make the final call in October.
SOM Designs Singapore’s Tallest Tower
SOM has designed what will be Singapore’s tallest tower upon its completion in 2016. Positioned as a premier quality business and lifestyle hub, the 290-meter, 1.7-million-gross-square-foot Tanjong Pagar Centre will provide a mix of uses, comprising office, residential, retail and hospitality, in the historic Tanjong Pagar central business district. The development will be a significant contribution to the evolving skyline of Singapore and will become a landmark destination, serving as a gateway to the future waterfront city.
John and Frances Angelos Law Center / Behnisch Architekten + Ayers Saint Gross
Architects: Behnisch Architekten, Ayers Saint Gross
Location: 1401 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD USA
Client: University of Baltimore
Gross Area: 18.0123 m2 / 194.000 sqft
Year: 2013
Photographs: Courtesy of Behnisch Architekten
Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Challenge
The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute and the Make It Right Foundation have issued a $250,000 challenge for manufacturers to design a product for the affordable housing market, which is both safe for human and environmental health and is designed for re-use. The deadline for submissions is June 30, 2013.
No more “waste” for incinerators, oceans, or landfills. We’re asking innovators to rethink common materials–such as PVC–and come up with revolutionary new products that can meet or beat conventional products on the basis of price, performance, availability and “eco-effectiveness.”
Click here to learn more about the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Challenge, online at C2CCertified.org.
Two Islands Wins Inaugural Flat Lot Competition in Flint
Update: Our friends at Two Islands have launched a Kickstarter campaing so you could also be part of the project. By pledging £5, you can have your own photo used in the ceiling of Mark’s House (or £20 for a bigger one). You can send a photo, a sign, a collage or even a QR code, so get creative! Click here for all the information.
Occupying no more than eight parking spaces on Flint, Michigan’s central downtown parking lot, this temporary summer pavilion designed as an abstract, reflective and floating representation of a Michigander, Tudor-style home has been chosen as the winning scheme in the inaugural Flat Lot competition presented by Flint Public Art Project and the Flint Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
More information on the winning scheme after the break…
MoMA Selects Diller Scofidio + Renfro as Architect of the Folk Art Museum
The Museum of Modern Art has commissioned Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) to design its controversial expansion that will overtake the former American Folk Art Museum in New York. This news comes after an intense backlash from prominent architects, preservationists and critics worldwide pressured MoMA to reconsider its decision to raze the iconic, Tod Williams and Billie Tsien-design museum in order to make way for its new expansion.
In response, DS+R has requested that MoMA gives them the “time and latitude to carefully consider the entirety of the site, including the former American Folk Art Museum building, in devising an architectural solution to the inherent challenges of the project,” as stated by Glenn D. Lowry, MoMA’s director, in a memo sent on Thursday to his trustees and staff. He added, “We readily agreed to consider a range of options, and look forward to seeing their results.”
More on the DS+R’s commission and the fate of the Folk Museum after the break…
Council Approves Cornell’s Net-Zero Tech Campus on Roosevelt Island
City Council has approved Cornell’s two-million-square-foot tech campus planned to break ground in 2014 on New York’s Roosevelt Island. Masterplanned by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM), the ambitious carbon positive campus will offer housing for 2,000 full-time graduate students, world-class education facilities, a hotel, a corporate co-location building, and more than an acre of public open space. Construction will commence with the first, state-of-the-art academic building that will be designed by Thom Mayne, founder of Morphosis, who will incorporate the latest environmental advances, such as geothermal and solar power, to achieve net-zero energy for the landmark structure.
Libeskind Selected to Design Ohio Statehouse Holocaust Memorial
Daniel Libeskind has been selected among two other renowned artists to design the Ohio Statehouse Holocaust Memorial in Columbus. The 18-foot tall memorial brushed stainless-steel memorial will be punctuated by the six-pointed Star of David and accompanied by a 40-foot walkway with words etched in limestone.
Madla-Revheim Masterplan Proposal / MVRDV + Space Group
MVRDV and Space Group are one of three teams who have been asked to submit a masterplan proposal for the Norwegian town of Madla-Revheim, the main development area outside of Stavanger. The aim of this commission is to develop a model of sustainable growth that treats development principles, transportation systems and built structures as parts of a whole. In this proposal, MVRDV and Space Group propose to concentrate 4,000 housing units on the edge of the 780 acre site, preserving the heart of the development for open, green space, public programs and sports facilities.
Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill Architecture Unveils Proposal for Mumbai’s Tallest Tower
Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill Architecture has unveiled a competition-winning prototype in which they hope will become Mumbai’s tallest skyscraper. Standing 400-meters about the crowded city streets, the 116-story Imperial Tower’s curvilinear form is aerodynamically shaped to “confuse the wind.” Its 132 “spacious and luxurious” residential units are punctuated by north- and south-facing sky gardens, which break up wind currents around the tower and provide unprecedented access to natural light and views of the Arabian sea.
Update: Golden State Warriors Stadium / Snøhetta + AECOM
Snøhetta and AECOM have released updated renderings of the Golden State Warriors’ Stadium, which is scheduled to debut on a preeminent San Francisco waterfront site for the 2017-18 NBA basketball season. Located on Piers 30-32, just walking distance from the downtown Financial District and easily accessed by a variety of public transportation, the 728,000 square foot arena will please the masses with its expansive open space, Bay Bridge views, and amenities. Not only will the 125-foot, disk-shaped stadium cater to Warriors’ needs, but it will also provide 90,000 square feet of retail space, ferry and cruise ship access, along with a waterside fire station. In addition, the 18,000-seat venue will also accommodate for music concerts, conventions and other cultural events.
Prince Claus Fund Now Accepting Proposals that Rethink Public Space
The Prince Claus Fund is now welcoming project proposals from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean for cultural initiatives related to the rethinking of public space.
The term “public space” is defined as a social space that is open and accessible to all. A public space can take many different forms. It can be a gathering place defined by its social aspect, a civic space, a community space, a virtual space… The strength of the public space is its potential in reaching out and involving a wide and diverse group of people.
Peter Zumthor Proposes $650 Million Overhaul for LACMA
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) will soon be rolling out the red carpet to welcome Swiss legend Peter Zumthor to the Golden State. The prized architect’s debut will mark the opening of “The Presence of the Past: Peter Zumthor Reconsiders LACMA,” which will unveil the ambitious, $650 million plan to transform the LACMA’s “Byzantine maze of buildings and hallways” into an experience-based “village” of curvaceous modern glass structures that will produce more energy than it uses.
“The idea is to make it permeable by people,” LACMA CEO and director Michael Govan says, who has been working with Zumthor for over four years on the proposal.
Bohlin Cywinski Jackson Honored with Lifetime Achievement Award
Bohlin Cywinski Jackson has been honored with the Good Design is Good Business Lifetime Achievement Architecture Award, presented by Architectural Record in association with the American Architectural Foundation. The firm is the second recipient of this award in the program’s 15-year history, which was originally started by BusinessWeek and Architectural Record to recognize exceptional contributions to bettering how businesses and institutions perform through architecture.
Under 40. Young Norwegian Architecture 2013
Who are currently the most noteworthy young architects in Norway, and how are they positioning themselves both at home and abroad?
MVRDV Wins Competition to Redesign 600ha of Caen
Stretching beyond the natural constraints of Presqu’ile de Caen and into the neighboring towns of Mondeville and Hérouville Saint Clair, MVRDV’s competition-winning vision will transform 600ha of industrial brown fields into a collection of gardens punctuated by a mosaic of urban settlements. This ambition, titled ‘La Grande Mosaique’, is strongly based on respect for the existing structures and defined by small scale interventions that will result in a large scale structure vision for Greater Caen.
The proposal was selected from three submittals by the public development agency SPLA for being, as Caen Mayor Philippe Duron describes, the “most impressive plan”. It was commended by the jury for its “fresh view” on urbanism.
Groups Urge Congress: Keep Energy Conservation Requirements for Government Buildings
The American Institute of Architects today released a letter from more than 350 different associations and companies expressing opposition to efforts by special interests to gut energy conservation requirements for federal buildings.
The letter, which is addressed to Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and ranking Republican Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, was released one week ahead of the scheduled mark-up of the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee May 8.
That legislation, introduced by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio), would promote greater use of energy efficiency technology in commercial and residential buildings and by manufacturers.
SO-IL to Design New Art Museum for UC Davis
The University of California, Davis has selected emerging New York-based practice SO-IL to design a new campus’ art museum, which is envisioned to be a “regional center of experimentation, participation and learning.” SO-IL, selected from three finalists following an intensive five-month design competition, will collaborate with San Francisco-based Bohlin Cywinski Jackson and national construction firm Whiting-Turner to complete the project.
UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi believes the winning design has turned the traditional notion of museum design inside out, as SO-IL’s concept will engage visitors with a sequence of interconnected interior and exterior spaces that are defined by curved glass walls and capped with a 50,000 square foot steel canopy. At night, the “Grand Canopy” will illuminate from within, establishing a new focal point for the campus and beckoning drivers along Interstate 80 between San Francisco and Lake Tahoe.
The architects’ description after the break…
Updated Plans Released for Foster + Partners’ Apple Campus in Cupertino
The City of Cupertino has released Apple’s revised campus plans, following the recent news criticizing Steve Job’s “sky-high requirements for fit and finish” that have resulted in a “ballooning budget.”
Abandoning Apple’s classic “white” detailing, architects Foster + Partners have opted to clad the 2.8 million square foot, circular monolith in black – a stylistic remedy that seems to be in line with the overarching campus goal to “provide a serene environment reflecting Apple’s brand values of innovation, ease of use and beauty.”
More details after the break…
Aga Khan Award for Architecture Shortlist Announced
From innovative mud and bamboo schools to state of the art “green” high-rises, the Master Jury for the 2013 Aga Khan Award for Architecture has selected 20 deserving nominees to be in the running for the prestigious, US$1 million prize. Since the award was launched 36 years ago, over 100 projects have received the prize and more than 7,500 building projects have been documented for exhibiting architectural excellence and improving the overall quality of life in their regions.
Farrokh Derakhshani, the Director of the Award, remarked: “The Master Jury, which includes some of the most prominent architects of our time, made interesting choices this year. For example, they chose schools in Afghanistan and Syria, but they also chose a hospital in Sudan, a high rise in Bangkok and the reconstruction of a refugee camp in Lebanon. In many ways, the choices reflect a central preoccupation of the Award: the impact of buildings and public spaces on the quality of life. Now this seems fairly mainstream, but we must remember that the Aga Khan Award has been talking about ‘human scale’ and ‘sustainability’ since 1977”.
The 2013 Aga Khan Award for Architecture Shortlist includes:
