Singapore Subordinate Courts Complex / Serie Architects + Multiply Architects
The Subordinate Courts of Singapore recently announced the proposal by Serie Architects and Multiply Architects as the winning design for their new courts complex. Their design features an innovative two tower strategy in which one tower is dedicated to the criminal courtrooms and the other to the judges’ chambers and support functions. The two towers are linked by a series of foot bridges that enable the controlled circulation necessary for the courtroom process. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
Skanska Bridging Prague Competition Winners
Participants in the Skanska Bridging Prague competition were asked to develop a new Vision Plan for the section of the riverfront from Libeňsk (Bridge) to the north to Železniční (Railway Bridge) in Smíchov to the south. The goal was to create a unified experience, linking cultural, recreational, ecological, historical and economic opportunities. They were also asked to design an intervention that will become a premiere destination along the river Vltava. The first prize winning proposal by Pete North focuses on strengthening the natural characteristics of places at the riverside, where it is consistent and feasible. It aims to create a synergy between park localities and the river, connected into a consequent chain of continuous spaces. More images and winning proposals after the break. (more…)
Musée de la Romanité / Elizabeth de Portzamparc
Facing the roman Arenas and amphitheater of Nîmes, crossed by the ruins and the archeological remains of the ancient roman fortifications, the main challenge for the design of the Musée de la Romanité was to design a museum that would become a reference on an international scale. This winning proposal by Elizabeth de Portzamparc creates a strong architectural dialogue between two architectures separated by over two thousand years of history and facing each other. The project is located on the backbone of the site, on the old limit that used to separate the medieval town from the modern city. More images and architect’s description after the break. (more…)
Design Competition for Russian Artist Residence and Community
Archpolis, a non-profit organization for architects, designers, artists and the performing arts, has invited architects and planners to submit their qualifications for the first stage of a design competition in Nikola-Lenivets Park in the Kaluga Region of Russia. Fifteen finalists will be chosen for the second stage of the competition with the objective to provide a conceptual design of a residential complex for artist in residence, along with a master plan and zoning details for the surrounding area.
Continue after the break to learn more. (more…)
National Stadium and Sports Village / LAVA
LAVA, the Laboratory for Visionary Architecture, and Designsport collaborated with local Ethiopian firm JDAW to win the international architecture competition for a national stadium and sports village, held by the Federal Sport Commission, Ethiopia. Now, football and athletics-loving Ethiopians will have a new FIFA and Olympic-standard 60,000 seat stadium in Addis Ababa thanks to a design that combines local identity with new technology. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
MÉCA – Maison de l’Économie Créative et de la Culture en Aquitaine / BIG
Team BIG+FREAKS freearchitects, dUCKS scéno, Khephren Ingénierie, VPEAS, ALTO Ingénierie, Vincent Hedont, PBNL, Mryk & Moriceau, Ph.A wins the competition to design a new 12 000 m2 cultural center on the riverfront of Bordeaux, merging three cultural institutions into one single building. More images and complete press release after the break.
Experimentarium Science Center / CEBRA
Architect: CEBRA
Location: Tuborg Havnevej 7, Hellerup, DK
Client: Experimentarium
Area: Approximately 30.000 m2 modernization and extension
Program: Center for Natural Science and Technology
Competition Year: 2011
Completion Year: 2015
After placing first in the design competition to transform an old mineral water bottling plant into a Science Center, CEBRA will move forward with the adapted proposal upon receipt of a substantial donation from the The A.P. Møller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller Foundation. The original building will be restored to serve as an interactive national center for science, technology and culture and house the Experimentarium’s diverse exhibition and education activities for the neighboring communities. CEBRA’s solution of layering a new expression on the historic entity brings science to the forefront while acknowledging contextual cues that create links back to its surroundings.
More about the project after the break.
Take the Mayors Challenge and Improve American City Life
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is searching for bold ideas that can “make government work better, solve a serious problem, or improve city life” in the United States. The Mayors Challenge encourages local architects and professionals to team up with their city officials and propose an innovative local solution that could be applied to a national problem.
Each city of 30,000 or more residents can submit one innovative idea under the direction of the mayor. As Architectural Record points out, there is nothing preventing architects from proposing a concept to their city leaders and working out a deal with them to prepare a submission. They can even negotiate some type of bonus if that idea wins! Those details will be left completely up to you.
However, the goal of the competition is to identify a need, solve a problem and share your knowledge so that other cities and citizens may benefit. Five boldest ideas with the greatest potential for impact will win funding as well as national and local recognition. The winning city will receive a $5,000,000 grand prize and four other cities will receive $1,000,000 to help implement their ideas.
Submit your RSVP by July 16th, 2012 and apply by September 14th, 2012. Find more information on mayorschallenge.bloomberg.org.
Female Prison / OOIIO Architecture
Based on natural light, open spaces and greenery such as peat, grass and flowers, the proposal by OOIIO Architecture for the Female Prison in Iceland dismisses the dark spaces, small cells and grey concrete walls typical of a traditional prison. The construction will be economical and efficient while not giving off the appearance of a typical penitentiary and increasing a sense of freedom. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
Copenhagen Arena Proposal / 3XN Architects
3XN Architects, in collaboration with HKS Architects, Arup, ME Engineers and Planit, won the first prize in the competition for the Copenhagen Arena, which is expected to be completed in the fall of 2015. Located in the Ørestad-area, a short metro ride from the city center of Denmark’s capital, their design combines two key ambitions: to create state of the art and flexible multi-purpose arena that can attract spectators from near and far, while ensuring that the building’s presence will be a win for the entire neighborhood. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
Competition: Designing Action Nashville
In response to Tennessee being currently ranked as the fourth most obese state in the U.S., the Nashville Civic Design Center has launched Designing Action in an attempt to pursue alternative ideas that will promote active lifestyles and help transform Nashville into a healthier city. Designing Action seeks to re-imagine a 75 acre industrial site along Downtown Nashville’s Cumberland River and envision ways in which infrastructure can promote active lifestyles and increase quality of life for all of Nashville’s citizens.
The registration deadline is set for July 27th, 2012. Continue reading for more information. (more…)
CEBRA wins Day Care Center
Our friends from CEBRA will team with Tækker and Grassat to design the Prinsesse Charlottes Gade 42 day care and after-school center in Copenhagen. The project will convert two existing preservation-worthy buildings from 1875 into a day care center complete with outdoor areas for approximately 225 children. CEBRA has a strong portfolio of educational design - some of our favorites include the Youth Recreation & Culture Center designed with Dorte Mandrup; Design Kindergarten; Egmont High School and the Kristiansand Cathedral School Gimle - so we are looking forward to what this design process will bring about. As the project unfolds, we will keep you informed with the latest.
Haraldsplass Hospital / C. F. Møller Architects
The winning proposal by C. F. Møller Architects for a new 10,000 m2 ward building for Haraldsplass Hospital in Bergen, Norway has been described by the jury as, “a whole new kind of hospital”. Gone are the traditional hospital corridors, to be replaced by open common areas and efficient logistics. The new building will lie at the foot of the Ulriken mountain, with the river Møllendalselven in front. More images and architects’ description after the break.
School and Student Residence / Chartier Dalix Architectes
Chartier Dalix Architectes recently won a competition for a primary school and student residence located in Ivry, Framce, just outside of Paris. The school is organized in the form of a terraced landscape welcoming successive vegetation and its general implantation, facing south, offers maximum sunlight to the playgrounds, corridors, and classrooms that take full advantage of this landscape in height. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
Platea Residences / Salon2
Salon2 shared with us their winning design in an invited competition for their Platea Residences proposal. Located in Fikirtepe area of Istanbul, their design strategy blends green and the conventional tower blocks into each other with climbing gardens almost like ivy climbing the trees. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
Klaksvík City Centre / Henning Larsen Architects
Henning Larsen Architects has won the competition for developing a 150,000 sqm area in the second-largest city in the Faroe Islands, Klaksvík. The area will comprise a cultural house, a museum, residences, offices and shops. 154 competition proposals were submitted in the open, international competition. More images and architect’s description after the break.
Yingkou Convention and Exposition Center / 2DEFINE Architecture
2DEFINE Architecture, with local partner Dalian Urban Planning & Design Institute, recently won an assignment to lead the design of an extraordinary new convention center in Yingkou, China. The project consists of a four-story, 70,000-square-meter (750,000-square-foot) facility in a city of 2.2 million people located in the northwest province of Liaoning on the Bohai Sea. A unique, sea urchin-shaped building created to reflect its natural environment, the facility will be the centerpiece of a new harbor created off of a satellite central business district in the port city. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
Student Housing Proposal / CEBRA
In cooperation with engineers LB Consult, CEBRA recently won the competition for 48 new student housing units in Esbjerg, Denmark’s 5th largest city. The eye-catching proposal consists of 26,910 sq. ft. apartments spread across ten floors and outdoor areas with terraces and activity zones such as a street basket field. The project is commissioned by the housing association Ungdomsbo and they expect that the first students can move in in January 2014. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
Semper Kaleidoscope / sTARTT
Our friends from Italian design firm sTARTT have shared their most recent restoration project which transforms an abandoned warehouse into a spatial urban kaleidoscope. Situated in the historic center in Porfiri of the Latina Province, the area is marked by architectonic elements from the city’s earliest foundation that now co‐exist with “inconsistent” contemporary parts of the center. In that sense, the project seeks to bring a continuity to the context, as sTARTT has envisioned a way to allow users to appreciate the historic roots of their city within a contemporary atmosphere.
More about the project after the break. (more…)
Rigshospitalet Hospital Expansion / 3XN Architects
3XN architects, in collaboration with Aarhus Architects, Nickl & Partner Architechten, Grontmij and Kirstine Jensen Studio, has won the prestigious competition for the expansion of Copenhagen’s main hospital, Rigshospitalet, which is expected to be completed in early 2017. The winning proposal for Copenhagen’s most centrally located hospital extension ensures 76,000 m2 of efficient and timesaving logistics, while daylight, green spaces and views of the neighboring park contribute to the wellbeing of patients, staff and visitors. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
Central Tirana Masterplan / Grimshaw Architects
Grimshaw Architects recently announced that they have been selected to masterplan a large expansion to Albania’s capital city, Tirana. Grimshaw proposed a robust sequence of public spaces threaded along the boulevard that responded geometrically to existing patterns of land ownership. Tirana is a Mediterranean city with an outdoor culture. Each space or ‘living room’ was presented with a different use and character; a new ‘symphony of squares’. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
