Green Climate Fund Headquarters / LAVA
The Federal Republic of Germany recently chose the Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (LAVA) as the designers for their bid to host the Secretariat of the Green Climate Fund [GCF] in Bonn, Germany. With a design inspired by the beautiful setting in the Rhine valley, and with curvilinear forms, nature light wells, roof top gardens and a large sunken terrace for the restaurant, the three level structure will comply with the latest energy and building ecology standards, meeting the highest demands in terms of sustainability (German gold certificate), ecology and energy efficiency (net zero energy). More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
Infinity Loop Bridge / 10 Design + Buro Happold
Creating a gateway entry to south China’s new planned commercial hub, the winning competition proposal by 10 Design + Buro Happold for their Infinity Loop Bridge marks the connection of the Shizimen Canal to the Pearl River Delta. The 10 and Buro Happold team set out to create a simple and elegant structural solution for a bridge that would be a visual focal point both within the Shizimen District itself and along the Pearl River Delta coastline. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
Musée de la Romanitée Narbonne / Foster + Partners
Foster + Partners was awarded first prize for their museum design in collaboration with Adrien Gardere for Narbonne in southern France. The museum’s central collection includes more than 1,000 ancient stone relief funerary blocks excavated from a nearby archaeological site, as Narbonne’s historical past as a vital Roman port has left an impressive legacy of buildings and ancient relics. Within the new design, Foster + Partners has created a wall to insert the stones that will act as a natural barrier to separate the public galleries from the more private restoration spaces. The building will also reinforce the strong landscape connection between water and gardens due to the site’s adjacency to the Canal du Midi.
More about the museum design after the break.
University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences / HOK
HOK was recently selected to design the new University at Buffalo (UB) School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences on its downtown campus upon winning a global design ideas competition. Located at the center of the region’s emerging bio-sciences corridor, this new transit-oriented medical school development will anchor a lively, urban mixed-use district on campus and bring 1,200 students, faculty and staff downtown. With the goal of fostering collaboration and interdisciplinary care, the new academic medical center will create connections that allow students, faculty, biomedical researchers and clinicians to move easily from classroom to bedside to lab. More images and archtiects’ description after the break. (more…)
Centro de Artes do Carnaval / José Neves
José Neves recenlty won the first prize in the competition for the project of the Centro de Artes do Carnaval in the city of Torres Vedras, Portugal. The jury noted that the design organizes the spaces for public use in an optimal way, allowing for a visitor’s path which is logical, organized and consequential. The proposal suggests the building as a unifying idea for the site starting from a balance between the contest specifications and the site characteristics, an innovative approach to the Slaughter House building, a relevant interpretation of the existing urban language and the consequent formulation of an architectural language which reinvents the site. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
“Living the City in the City” / Paolo Brescia and Tommaso Principi + Margherita Del Grosso + Openfabric
The project “Living in the City in the City” by the team composed by Paolo Brescia and Tommaso Principi (architecture), Margherita Del Grosso (architecture), Openfabric (landscape), Marco Manzitti (urban marketing), Buro Happold (energy and environmental strategies), D’Appolonia (infrastructures), and Doro Dietz (visualization) recenlty won the international design competition organized by the Municipality of Genoa for the enhancement of Via XX Settembre. The idea of the project promotes a strong sense of self-identification by the Genoese, recovering the essential meaning of living seen as taking care of their city. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
Primary School / Mecanoo Architecten
Mecanoo recently won the commission to design a new primary school in Mill, the Netherlands through a European procurement competition in combination with Giesbers-Wijchen Bouw. The 4,200 m² school building will be the new home for primary schools De Kameleon and De LenS, and houses a preschool, day and youth care and a youth and family center. Construction is to begin in 2013 with doors opening at the end of the summer in 2014. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
National Mall Winning Design Proposal for Constitution Gardens / Rogers Marvel Architects + PWP Landscape Architecture
As we announced earlier, the Trust for the National Mall has selected the New York-based Rogers Marvel Architects and California based-PWP Landscape Architecture to re-envision Constitution Gardens in Washington DC. This team was one of three winning teams selected to redesign three neglected sites on the National Mall. The winning design for the Constitution Gardens proposes to bring renewed identity to this often overlooked part of the National Mall by building on the legacy of the original 1970s plan and creating a lush landscape of rolling hills, gardens and forests with a pavilion overlooking the lake.
Continue reading for more images, video and the architects’ press release. (more…)
Tsinghua Law Library Building Proposal / Kokaistudios
Kokaistudios was recently announced as the winner of the competition for the new Tsinghua University Law Library located in Beijing, China. Proposing a reflection on the role of void in structuring functions and programs within the building, their design also defines, at the same time, its relations within its surroundings. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
National Mall Winning Design Proposal for Sylvan Theater / Weiss/Manfredi + OLIN
New York-based architects Weiss / Manfredi and Philadelphia-based landscape architects OLIN have been announced as winner of the National Mall Design Competition for the Washington Monument Grounds at Sylvan Theater in Washington, DC. Weiss / Manfredi and OLIN were one of three winning teams selected by the Trust for the National Mall to rejuvenate and transform three neglected sites on the National Mall (read our original announcement here). In the winning proposal for Sylvan Theater, Weiss / Manfredi and OLIN sculpt the ground plan and restore the existing tree canopy to create a new performance landscape that can accommodate a wide variety of events, while permeating the site with critical visitor amenities.
Continue reading for more images, video and the architects’ press release. (more…)
Adult Education Center / CEBRA
Danish firm, CEBRA, was recently awarded first prize for their new education center in Odense. The building explores how curved forms can penetrate and define the rectilinear confines of the 134,550 sqf school building. Soft curving levels open to floors below and provide a mixing of visual and auditory experiences in a dynamically changing environment. Moreover, such levels provide a flexible learning environment, with “the human-being placed at the center.”
More about the project after the break, including CEBRA’s awesome hand renderings. (more…)
National Mall Winning Design Proposal for Union Square / Gustafson Guthrie Nichol + Davis Brody Bond
Seattle-based landscape architects Gustafson Guthrie Nichol (GGN) and New York-based architects Davis Brody Bond (DBB) were recently selected as the winners of the National Mall Design Competition for Union Square. Organized by the Trust for the National Mall, a jury of eight esteemed professionals selected a design team for each of the three re-design sites of the National Mall through a three-stage process. The winning design was judged on flexibility, sustainability, and creativity of their design and how well it reflects the established vision and design influences of this historic setting. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
Adult Education Centre / CEBRA
Danish architects CEBRA, along with developers Pihl & Søn and engineers Hundsbæk & Henriksen recenlty won the competition for a new Adult Education Centre of in downtown Odense, Denmarks’s third largest city. The 12.500 m2 / 134.550 ft2 educational institution aims at creating a flexible and diverse learning environment that gives room for individual needs in a collective building. According to the plans, the centre will open at the beginning of 2014. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
Trianel GmbH Corporate Centre / gmp Architekten
gmp Architekten shared with us their first prize winning proposal for the Trianel GmgH Corporate Centre in Aachen, Germany. The new building is located along a major road next to the Tivoli stadium. From 2013 on it is to be built in two phases, the first of which comprises 9,600 square metres of gross floor area and will accommodate 400 members of staff. In the second, optional phase the building can be extended by 4,800 square metres to accommodate a further 200 employees. The building’s sustainability concept merits a silver DGNB certificate. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
New Housing for Researcher Workers / Praksis Architects
Praksis Architects recently won the competition for new housing for researcher workers in the old Carlsberg city in Copenhagen. On the occasion of brewer JC Jacobsen’s 200 year anniversary, the Carlsberg Foundation in 2011 announced an invited competition. The building of approx. 13 mill. euro will be located next to JC Jacobsen’s garden and the listed buildings, the Hanging Gardens and Mineral Factory as neighbors. The building of approx. 3,200 m2 must have 6 floors and contain 22 various types of apartments. The ground floor will contain exhibition and shopping facilities. More images and project description after the break. (more…)
Robot Workshop Competition Winners
suckerPUNCH recently announced the winners of their Robot Workshop competition. The past few years have seen an exciting rise in the fascination with robotics. Simultaneously, the ability to develop and build robots capable of complex and experimental applications has become easier and more accessible to the general public. From hardware like Arduino to open source programming like Processing, there now exist inexpensive and even free ways to dabble with robotics. With the site located in an open lot in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, the Robot Workshop will be a place people can come to work on their projects, utilizing shop facilities while simultaneously interacting with fellow robot enthusiasts. More images and descriptions on the winning proposals after the break. (more…)
Research and Educational Building for Technical University Denmark / Christensen & Co. Architects + Rørbæk & Møller architects
Christensen & Co. Architects + Rørbæk & Møller architects were recently announced as winners of the competition for a 40.000m2 laboratory building at Technical University Denmark. The new research and educational building assembles the three institutes in one clear architectural concept, creating an open building with space for knowledge sharing and collaborations across the various subjects. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
Troyes Business School Proposal / SCAU Architectes
The winning proposal for the extension project for the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Troyes (Troyes Management School) by SCAU Architectes provides a new image, thanks to a highly pertinent concept that marries convivial spaces, clear circulation, modern energy and, above all, a great simplicity of architectural style. The extension, necessitated by its exceptional growth, is a real opportunity to confirm the establishment’s image and assert its identity at a national and international level, among the diverse colleges in this field. In this respect, the building’s architectural expression has today become the flagship of the Troyes ESC’s dynamism and energy. More images and architects’ dsescription after the break. (more…)
Stadium for Russia’s 2018 World Cup / GUP MNIIP “Mosproject-4” + HKS Architects
The winning proposal for the design of a stadium for Russia’s 2018 World Cup was created by the design institute “Mosproject-4″ from Russia and HKS Architects from the United States. The main characteristics of the stadium include an innovative constructive decision, increased comfort for both the audience and athletes, and sustainability strategies. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
Plot B of China Mobile International Headquarters Campus / Leo A Daly
Leo A Daly, in collaboration with Local Design Institute WDCE, recently won a competition to design Phase 2, Plot B, of the international headquarters campus of China Mobile Ltd. in Beijing. One of the largest mobile telecommunications companies in the world, China Mobile Ltd. selected their design for the research and development office and laboratory buildings, each a five- and nine-story facility, which are organized on an east-west pedestrian axis and mirrored in their massing to establish opposite, formal entries linked to internal courtyards at the ground level. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
Planetarium, Centre for Eco Tourism, and Science and Technology Centre / JB Ferrari & Associates
The iconic nature of the winning proposal for the Planetarium, Centre for Eco Tourism, and Science and Technology Centre is balanced by a rational response to the brief and the constraints of the site. By isolating the planetarium and the activities linked closely to it the design by JB Ferrari & Associates is able to exploit the strong potential for volumetric expression. This allows for a more subdued intervention to the historic buildings. Seemingly evident, such a direction is not an obvious reading of the brief but is made possible through astute reinterpretation of the district plan. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
