University Building Winning Proposal / 3XN Architects
3XN Architects shared with us their competition winning proposal for the new university building in Uppsala, Sweden. Their design concept bridges the past and the future by extending the lines from the historical surroundings into an innovative structure. Pointing towards future through its flexible and open spaces, it encourages new ways of working, studying and collaborating. More architects’ description after the break. (more…)
Obama speaks at the ground breaking ceremony for the National Museum of African American History and Culture
President Obama attended the official ground breaking ceremony of the National Museum for African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) on February 22, commemorating this milestone for the Smithsonian Institution’s new museum on Washington’s National Mall. The Tanzanian-born, London-based architect David Adjaye serves as Lead Designer for the Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup (FAB) team that was selected by the Smithsonian Institute back in 2009 in the international competition for the design of the nation’s new prestigious building.
The President began his brief remarks by stating, “As others have mentioned, this day has been a long time coming. The idea for a museum dedicated to African Americans was first put forward by black veterans of the Civil War. And years later, the call was picked up by members of the civil rights generation -– by men and women who knew how to fight for what was right and strive for what is just. This is their day. This is your day. It’s an honor to be here to see the fruit of your labor.”
Continue reading for more information on the project and a video of President Obama’s speech. (more…)
Sports Complex and Urban Re-design / gmp Architekten
In association with Jean-Baptiste Ferrari et Associes SA, gmp Architekten recently won the competition for a sports complex and urban re-design in Lausanne, Switzerland. The design manages to create an urban link between the diverse structure of the neighboring quarters, the new proposed residential quarter and the shores of Lake Geneva. Situated on a triangular lot, the site is defined in the south by the motorway and in the west and north by large arterial roads. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
‘THE BLUE LINE’ Dnieper Pearls Competition Winning Proposal / Wolf House Productions & Gabriel Pascariu
Wolf House Productions and Gabriel Pascariu shared with us their first prize winning proposal in the ‘Dnieper Pearls’ international urban planning competition in Kiev. THE BLUE LINE aims at providing a sustainable development framework for the Kiev islands as well as an infrastructural backbone for the future urban development of the entire metropolis. Their design suggests a paradigm shift: from large scale urban and infrastructure projects (specific to Ukrainian urban planning) to a more fluid and efficient place-making driven urbanism. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
Europan 11 Proposal: Effets de Serres / CLIC Architecture
CLIC Architecture shared with is us their first prize winning proposal in the Europan 11 Competition. Their proposal for Stains, France aims to connect, under an always changing seasonal landscape, all metropolitan scales from public space to housing issues, from global to local scales. The design also acts as the multi-modal hub (metro, train) for a three-dimensional subtle interconnection of public space, mobility nods and private business complexes. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
Stavanger Museum of Archeology / Lund + Slaatto Architects
Lund + Slaatto Architects, in collaboration with schmidt hammer lassen architects, were recently awarded second place in the competition for the extension of the Stavanger Museum of Archeology. Though very vibrant and active, the premises of the museum are currently unsuitable and small. Therefore, the aim of the competition was to create an extension that forms the museum’s new main facade and which primarily provides space for the exhibition and education. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
National Geographic Headquarters / Weiss/Manfredi
Weiss/Manfredi has just been selected to transform the urban campus of the National Geographic Headquarters in Washington, D.C. following a competition among top firms such as Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Diamond Schmitt Architects, and Steven Holl Architects. The project will establish new connections among the diverse collection of buildings that span more than a century on the Washington D.C. site and create a new expression for National Geographic’s international programs, museum, media, and research activities.
More after the break. (more…)
Room For Prayer: Mosque and Cultural Center / Studio Ö
Studio Ö shared with us their first prize design, Room for Prayer, a mosque and cultural center as an extension for the Islamic Center of New England, Massachusetts. The proposed volume is closed to the outside and opens up on the inside. The intricate pattern of concrete facade works with shifting planes, creating shadow effects and an elegant and playful expression. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
Riga International Airport Winning Proposal / Haptic Architects
Haptic Architects, in collaboration with Narud Stokke Wiig Architects & Planners, and Griff Arkitektur recently won the open international competition for the new airbaltic terminal at Riga International Airport in Latvia. Selected from 125 entries from 70 different countries, their design features a roof for the airbaltic terminal that is influenced by the gently undulating forms of the latvian landscape, with peaks and troughs responding to the structure’s internal configuration and passenger flows. More images and project description after the break. (more…)
BIG wins competition for the new Kimball Art Center in Park City
BIG has just been announced as the winner of the competition for the new Kimball Art Center in Park City, Utah. The non-profit community center for the visual arts, which started in 1976, invites people to experience art through education, exhibitions and events. The aging historic building (dated from 1929) was in need of restoration and an addition that could allow the organization to increase their educational outreach and enhance the quality and scale of the exhibitions, while maintaining free admission to the public.
The competition’s shortlist included some of the (in my opinion) best firms in the US these days: BIG (actually Danish, but with an office in NY, which in a way “landed” in the US with several ongoing projects), Brooks + Scarpa, Sparano + Mooney Architecture, Tod Williams and Billie Tsien Architects, and Will Bruder + Partners LTD.
You can check BIG’s proposal previously featured at ArchDaily, a project that stood out not only in formal aspects, but because of its connection with the history that the Kimball Art Center has represented.
Holl to design MFAH
Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts, the leading cultural institution of the region, has recently selected Steven Holl Architects to design a new museum building to support its collections, exhibitions, and various educational programs. After a comprehensive international competition, MFAH asked Steven Holl, Snøhetta, and Morphosis to develop site-specific concepts for the planned expansion. The jury unanimously chose Holl as his strong portfolio of built museums, such as the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the recently finished Cité de l’Océan et du Surf, display a sense of elegance and clarity much desired by the MFAH.
More about the museum after the break. (more…)
‘Almost Home’ Competition Winners
Tesseract Collective‘s shared with us the results of their recent competition “Almost Home”, which asked designers to consider how it is possible to rehabilitate homeless people. They hold regular design competitions around humanitarian topics, with the intention of opening discussion over how architecture can be used powerfully to alleviate suffering and social deprivation around the world. “Almost Home” was the second homeless themed competition they have held. The brief called for a holistic and thoughtful strategy, which would integrate well with the urban environment and have a more long-term approach than immediate survival and comfort. More images and information on the winning entries after the break. (more…)
Update: National Mall Phase Three / Weiss/Manfredi + OLIN
As we have shared previously on AD, Washington DC’s National Mall – America’s most visited national park with over 25 million visitors a year- is undergoing a total restoration. The $700 million project will be the first major renovation in over 35 years, and will focus on three sites of the Mall: Union Square, Sylvan Theater on the Washington Monument Grounds, and the Constitution Gardens. During an intensive three part competition, the jury first evaluated scores of portfolios to select up to eight designers per site; conducted team interviews to narrow the site designers to five; and finally, during Phase Three, the jury will hold a design competition for each site. We have just been notified by Weiss/Manfredi and OLIN that their team has been chosen to develop two of the three sites; no small feat for a competition that began with over 1,2000 designers. The multidisciplinary team of architecture, landscape and planning designers will develop proposals for both the Monument Grounds and the Constitution Gardens. We are excited to see what the team will develop, and we will keep you updated on the other Phase Three finalists and their proposals as we hear more.
Information Portal / CEBRA
Our friends from CEBRA have shared their new Information Center for Rebild Hills and Rold Forest, a winning competition entry in collaboration with HP Byg, Viggo Madsen and exhibition architect Elisabeth Topsøe. Situated in the amazing nature reserves of Denmark’s Rebild Hills and Rold Forest in northern Jutland, the project was conceptualized as an open and accommodating buiding that serves as a gathering place to inform, guide and inspire the 400,000+ visitors who are guided through the forests each year. “We have created an information portal, which is both building and nature, with a distinctive expression and character deriving directly from Nature’s own formal language and elements, which makes the building stand out from its surroundings and blend in with nature’s scenery at one and the same time,” explained CEBRA.
More about the project, including lots of CEBRA’s awesome hand drawings, after the break. (more…)
CTBUH International Student Tall Building Competition
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat is announcing its second annual student competition for “Reimagining Tall”. The competition will be held in conjunction with CTBUH 9th World Congress Shanghai 2012. Competition chair William Pedersen of Kohn Pedersen Fox noted that the competition hopes to give new meaning to “the tall building” and move it “away from just an instrument of financial exploitation and toward a development highly concerned with its impact on the city, the environment, and the urban habitat”. The competition is seeking proposals that address the building’s relationship with the urban fabric, integrate existing street life and reflect their environment in a productive way. This should be an interesting competition considering we are entering the era of the megatall.
More details on the competition after the break. (more…)
2011 AIM Competition Awards
The second year of the AIM Competition invited participants to implement Green Transformation to the Shougang Group, the yin of dialectics of Beijing’s urban development. The design was to play an equally as significant role as the CBD (Central Business District) in making Beijing a healthy, balanced, and attractive city. It shall become a “Central Recreation District”, differentiated from the Central Business District. Due to the vast area of the Shougang Group site, this year’s focus was on the redevelopment of Er-Tong. Because green transformation spans the multidisciplinary layers of architecture, landscape and urban design, this year’s AIM competition recognized five different awards for outstanding performance. More images and information on the awarded projects after the break. (more…)
Competition: Urban Intervention
Urban Intervention is challenging you, the innovative designer, to create a multidisciplinary design team able to conceive the new vision for Seattle’s public space in the coming century. “Design ideas should harness Seattle’s history of innovation and civic engagement to inspire the next generation of great public spaces, connecting interaction and innovation to meet the challenges of the future”.
The 9-acre site is located within the 74-acre Seattle Center campus, neighboring the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Experience Music Project, Space Needle and other cultural assets. The top three finalists will receive $30,000, allowing them to further develop their ideas into the second phase. The grand prize winner will receive an additional $30,000 cash award.
Continue reading for more important dates and information. (more…)
Warming Huts v.2012 Competition Winners
Warming Huts v.2012, an arts and architecture competition on ice in Winnipeg, Canada, recently announced the winners which demonstrate a collection of varying interpretations of shelter.
Frank Gehry will design a hut made from large blocks of ice entitled, FIVE-HOLE. The blocks are slated to be shipped from Montreal especially for Gehry’s project. Three huts were chosen from over 40 other entries in the open design competition. The winning designs, WIND CATCHER, Ice Pillows, and ROPE Pavilion represent Norway, Czech Republic and New York respectively. The fifth and final hut, entitled HOTHUT, came from a call to University of Manitoba Architecture students who competed in teams for the final coveted spot. More images and information on the winning proposals after the break. (more…)
Hangzhou Waves / JDS
JDS has just been awarded first prize for their Hangzhou Waves scheme – a competition entry that called for the design of not one, but two buildings for the financial district of Hangzhou Xintiandi of Hangzhou, China. The two sloping volumes offer different exterior expressions and hold different programmatic entities (a hotel and an office building); yet, the forms are guided by similar attitudes regarding sunlight, green roofs, an active ground plane, etc, which immediately creates a strong relationship between the pair.
More about the winning competition entry after the break. (more…)
Cité de l’Océan et du Surf Wins Award in 2011 Annual Design Review / Steven Holl
In the beginning of December, we shared the news of Steven Holl‘s 2012 AIA Gold Medal award; a prestigious honor given to those who continually push the field forward with their “humanist approach to formal experimentation.” A few short weeks later, Holl’s Cité de l’Océan et du Surf (translated to Museum of Ocean and Surf) has received a 2011 Annual Design Review Award. This new museum in Biarritz, France is a collaborative effort with Solange Fabião and has attracted international attention for its spatial duality of crafting an atmosphere “under the sky” and “under the sea”.
More about the award after the break. (more…)
Urban Umbrella / Young-Hwan Choi
Tired of scurrying under makeshift unpleasant scaffolding hovering over the streets of Manhattan? Back in 2009, Bloomberg launched an urban design intervention initiative calling for designers to provide a “fresh new sidewalk shed” to replace its dingy predecessors. Entitled urbanSHED, the international design competition challenged participants to develop a sustainable and economic prototype to be used for New York’s 1,000,000+ linear feet of sidewalks. Such a prototype must meet or exceed the City’s current safety requirements and regulations, and improve technical and structural performance. The winning shed was designed by Young-Hwan Choi, a student from the University of Pennsylvania. The shed is the first design to be approved under the City’s Buildings Bulletin 2011 and will be installted in Lower Manhattan soon!
More about the design after the break. (more…)
