Ryder Architecture have revealed their design for the new headquarters of online bingo and gaming giant, tombola. Sitting adjacent to the company's current headquarters at Wylam Wharf, Sunderland, the new design playfully references the historic warehouse surroundings with a brick, glass and steel material palette. The fully-glazed eastern facade is bordered by a solid brick extrusion, mimicking the roof profile of the warehouses in the historic area. The new building is set to house all of tombola's operations and regional staff, bringing activity to the quayside suburb.
As part of an experimental ideas exhibition, Tomas Ghisellini Architects (TGA) have designed an extension to the Italian Institute of Culture in Paris. Nine Italian practices were engaged by a consortium of French and Italian institutions, and this cohesive union of cultures is mirrored in TGA's design. TGA's proposal plays with transparency and layering, with two large volumes of glass and steel referencing the "Parisian architectures of transparency," whilst displaying the excellence of Italian materiality and craftsmanship. The exhibition is being shown at the historical complex of the Hotel de Galliffet in Paris until December this year.
Mailitis A.I.I.M. have revealed their vision for the complete regeneration of the Cesis Beer Brewery, a large complex in the Latvian town of Cesis. The unoccupied factory grounds are comprised of building stock from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, presenting a rich tapestry of Cesis' industrial history. The new master plan sees the site transformed into a vital hub of science and the arts by means of "slow architecture" - a gradual, transformative approach to the design of public space.
A proposal from AM3 Architetti Associati with Cannone Architetti uses the flow of the natural landscape to create a theater cut into a cliffside in Cefalù, Italy. Situated at the base of the Rocca di Cefalù, the new theater had to respect the importance of both the historical, man-made structures and the greatness of the cliffs and rocky outcrops. The first prize winning design plays with the existing naturally occurring amphitheater, "S. Calogero cavea", adding a series of lightweight interventions to create a new cultural attraction.
First Prize Winning Proposal "U-CAN" by I-Ting Chuang, Jing-Yao Lin, Takanori Kodama, Yu Han Wu. Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders
Through their international architecture competitions, Bee Breeders give young architects and designers the platform to question the social and political role of architecture. Their latest competition, a Cannabis Bank without a specified site, was an open-ended question into the role and relevance of the increasingly normalised substance. The judges selected three winners and six honorable mentions, all of which presented ideas that open up the discourse around cannabis and its integration into the built environment.
As the architecture of cannabis still remains undefined territory, it has historically been associated with refits of other building types such as tea houses, cafes, public houses or pharmacies. This ambiguity left the field open for entrants to be as fantastic and progressive as they desired, with respect to the impact of the program on their social context. The judges commented that the most successful projects presented a, "consideration of individual experience — medicinal, psychological, and spiritual; sensitive accommodation in space and circulation for both the intimate and social; clearly defined context and locale; and innovation of an undefined spatial, tectonic, and architectural typology."
In this interview, presented in collaboration with PLANE—SITE, the creative directors of the Australian Pavilion at the 2016 Venice Biennale discuss the motivation and execution of their design, "The Pool." In the short clip, Amelia Holliday, Isabelle Toland and Michelle Tabet provide insight into the cultural relevance of the pool within the Australian built environment and the emotional reactions they hoped to invoke in visitors. They explain the way these ideals are translated into the physical pavilion, which was intended to replicate "a place where people of different ages and backgrounds and abilities can all come together and be part of something."
Rolka Studio have unveiled their winning proposal for the Mevaseret Zion Conservatory in Israel. A joint venture of the local council of Mevaseret Zion, the Israeli Architects Association and the Musicon Association, the competition sought a design that integrated the urban and natural borders of the site with the unique musical program. The judges commented that it was Rolka Studios' interrogation of the "relationship between the creator and nature, between performance and landscape, sound and topography" that made their proposal stand out from the 85 entries.
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A wall coated with Paxcon (left) vs an untreated wall (right) after a TNT detonation. Image Courtesy of Line-X
A game-changing protective coating from Line-X has the power to make buildings virtually impenetrable. The spray creates a thin barrier which is watertight, abrasion and impact resistant and can withstand high temperatures; all of which combine to make it almost indestructible. The concoction deemed "Paxcon®," is stronger than steel, and can protect buildings from explosions or natural disasters such as earthquakes or storms.
Exterior Perspective. Visualization by Sang Yeun Lee. Image Courtesy of Hanna Johansson, Juras Lasovsky and Filip Lipinski
A team of three young architects based in Copenhagen has unveiled their proposal for a new cultural center in Skellefteå, Sweden. The Möjligheternas Hus (House of Opportunity) extends the existing city grid with new "culture streets" at ground level, giving rise to a thriving central "living room" of arts, hospitality, and culture. The design was developed as part of an open competition, in which the first-time collaborators placed second against a pool of established international practices.
AGA Architects have designed a new mixed-use development which is currently under construction in the Hong Xing district of Changsha, China. The project is set to become the first prototype of a combined leisure park and shopping mall in the country. A mix of retail, office, residential and hotel space is interspersed with "joyful" elements such as a sky walking corridor, 360-degree restaurant and a sky pool which overlooks the complex. Integrated landscape and a focus on sustainability transform the center into what the architects call a "green park mall."
Park Associati has revealed their plans for a new landmark business center in central Milan. A series of differentiated volumes make up the complex, one of which rises far higher and has been articulated as a "lantern," illuminating the skyline. The plan for the Pharo Business Center focuses on visibility and accessibility, taking advantage of the site's prominent position.
When posed with a brief for a Japanese-style mobile fashion store, Kooo Architects decided not to respond in a purely visual symbolic way. Rather, they looked at the climate for constructing architecture in Japan, and decided to raise social awareness of the destructive power of earthquakes. Using approximately 1000 disaster hoods to create an 8m diameter partial dome, their design embodies the color and texture of their client's fashion range while reminding the public of the prevalence of natural disasters.
First Prize Winner "Ugandan LGBT Youth Asylum" by Enrico Chinellato and Jacopo Donato . Image Courtesy of Bee Breeders
Bee Breeders, organizers of international architectural competitions, have announced this week the three winners and six honorable mentions of their Uganda LGBT Youth Asylum Center competition. Inspired by recent activism in Uganda, Bee Breeders sought the design of a community center to welcome those in the LGBT community who have been ostracized from their home environments. The judges said that they were looking for designs that focused on social integration, not isolation, celebrating those who created "a community center, not a prison."
After receiving building permit approval, Twelve Architects has revealed their design for a 42,000 square meter international exhibition center in Yekaterinburg, Russia. The design, which houses a series of conference halls, a media center, gallery, exhibition space, seminar rooms and lounges, has been developed from their initial 2015 competition winning entry. Partnership with a local practice has helped to guide the design of the center, enabling the creation of a major cultural hub within Yekaterinburg.
With its overblown rental market and the rising costs of tertiary education, London is turning from a city that welcomed creative individuals to one that locks them out. Boano Prišmontas believe that "creativity should not be linked to social status," and the way to counter this is through the creation of affordable spaces. As a response, they have created the "Minima Moralia"; a compact, modular steel frame assembly with infinite possibilities for customization.
Courtesy of Moore Ruble Yudell And Tongji Architectural Design and Research Institute
A team comprised of Moore Ruble Yudell (MRY), Tongji Architectural Design and Research Institute and SWA Landscape have proposed the winning design for the new College of Architecture and Design at Wenzhou-Kean University in Wenzhou, China. Their design is made up of a series of rectangular volumes, at the core of which lies a large forum, central to both the building and the university as a whole. Prominently sited at the entrance to the campus, the new College presents a grand portico to welcome visitors into the university through the formal entry quad.
Matteo Cainer Architects revealed their vision for the Suncheon Art Platform, a new arts, visitor and cultural center in South Korea. Invoking the historic symbol of the boundary city wall, the proposal "inverts this idea to protect the natural habitat from the ever expanding city." The proposal was developed for the Suncheon Art Platform competition, won by Studio MADe, presenting a powerful alternate response to the competition's brief.
