Building Pulitzer Colloquium

Taking place February 8-9, the Building Pulitzer Colloquium, which is free and open to the public, will bring together key participants in the design and construction of this iconic building. The colloquium will provide unique insight into the extraordinary collaboration and dedication required to realize this project. Hosted by the The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts and Washington University in St. Louis, the event focuses on how this building, designed by an internationally recognized architect, was completed. Topics will include the working structure between Tadao Ando’s office and the St. Louis-based team, the realization of Ando’s design intent through the translation of American methods of construction, and the creation of a work environment that fostered construction excellence. More information on the event after the break. (more…)
‘Fields Of Knowledge’ Sustainable Education Campus Second Prize Winning Proposal / ShaGa Studio + Auerbach-Halevy Architects/Ori Rittenberg(Rotem)

Awarded the second prize in the recent Ramat Efal Education Campus Competition, the ‘Fields of Knowledge’ proposal by ShaGa Studio + Auerbach Halevy Architects/Ori Rittenberg(Rotem) integrates a series of linear ‘knowledge fields’ into a rich and varied learning experience, weaving together exteriors and interiors, the public and the community. Evoking the memories of old agriculture fields in Ramat Efal, their design criticizes an existing plan that splits the campus into three divided plots and suggests instead an integration of both school & public programs within an overall ‘field condition’. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
Mosque (Amir Al-Momenin) Proposal / CAAT Architecture Studio

Focusing on local architecture, the proposal for the Mosque (Amir Al- Momenin) by CAAT Architecture Studio detaches from everyday life and the approach to worship space in accessing the building. The integrated entity of the proposal plays its role as a religious and cultural center in the region scale while communicating with the environment. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
Notre Dame de l’Assomption – National Cathedral Competition Entry / YCF Group

Designed by YCF Group, in collaboration with ARCA Consulting and AFH Haiti (Architecture for Humanity), their proposal for the Notre Dame de l’Assomption draws on the life and culture of the Haitian people, while remembering the site’s history and the lives lost on January 12, 2010. Inspired by a Haitian fisherman’s boat, the project’s folded origami form aims links the new cathedral to the old cathedral’s former function as a lighthouse. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
Abstraction Installation / Hornung And Jacobi Architecture + Axel Schenke

Exhibited at the Designers’ Saturday 2012 in Langenthal, Switzerland and at the BAU 2013 in Munich, Germany, the experimental installation “Abstraction” transforms shadows and lights into predefined pixels. Created by architects Peter Thomas Hornung of Hornung and Jacobi Architecture and Axel Schenke, their patented system uses the given material properties of Corian and assigned it with so far unknown qualities. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
Graffiti Artist’s Mural Honors Oscar Niemeyer

A true legacy in the field of architecture and beyond, Oscar Niemeyer, who died just this past December at the age of 104, has traveled into the heart of many, one of which is graffiti artist Eduardo Kobra. In honor of the Brazilian architect, Kobra created a 61-yard art piece on the side of a building in Sao Paulo’s financial district. The immense, colorful mural cannot be missed as people pass by and admire the work. Expressing Niemeyer’s love for concrete, curves and Le Corbusier, the mural truly encompasses the architect’s aim to, “…produce an architecture that serves everyone and not just a group of privileged people.” More images can be viewed after the break. (more…)
Roche Diagnostics Training Center / SOM

Aiming to provide a new gateway and identity, the two-story, 87,135-square-feet Roche Diagnostics Training Center re-imagines their Indianapolis campus. Designed by SOM, the project just broke ground as it begins to establish a new and consistent brand identity for the Swiss-based pharmaceutical company. The new building’s clean, modern aesthetic embodies Roche’s corporate architectural philosophy and is informed by a 100 year legacy of European design precedents. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
ACTIVATE! Public Space Design Competition

Architecture for Humanity Chicago recently announced the launch of their 4th annual ACTIVATE! Design Competition, which is free and open to the public. The competition challenges participants to redefine a public space on a temporary basis and on a budget of $1,000. The designs should aim to leverage community development through the implementation of small scale place making infrastructure. This will be a partnership with Chicago Department of Transportation as part of the ‘Make Way for the People’ initiative. It will focus on four sites in the city: Old Town, Pilsen, Woodlawn, and East Garfield Park. The deadline for entries is March 15. For more information, please visit here.
Libeskind Shortlisted for Ohio Statehouse Holocaust Memorial

Daniel Libeskind is among three semi-finalists competing to design the Ohio Statehouse Holocaust Memorial in Columbus. The privately funded memorial will be built south of the Ohio Statehouse on the grassy 10 acre Capitol Square, just east of the Scioto River.
As stated in the competition brief, “The memorial itself must help everyone who visits and works in the Statehouse understand not just the history of the Holocaust, but also the fact that today we must continue to stand against evil. Artists are asked to create a piece that will serve as a permanent memorial in remembrance of all victims of the Holocaust (1933-1945) and those Ohioans who participated in the liberation of the death camps during World War II. The memorial should provide enlightenment on man’s inhumanity to man and inspire people to think and act differently in the face of discrimination, hatred, antiSemitism and genocide.”
The three semi-finalists are:
Huaihua Theater and Exhibition Center Proposal / United Design Group

With the site of the proposed project characterized by a 7m height difference between the south west corner and the north east one and the fastest way to access to it is from the roads west and north of it, the Huaihua Theater and Exhibition Center will be managed by three different subjects adding further difficulties in organizing the layout. Designed by United Design Group, the 60,000 m² complex is equally subdivided between the theater/cinema part (30,000 m²) and exhibitions: 12,000 m² for the museum; 10,000 m² for the urban planning hall; 3000 m² for the fine arts museum and 1000 m² for the local history exhibition. An extra 6000 m² will host the art training center. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
‘Almighty Tree’ Proposal / Saraiva + Associados

In an effort to search for the city’s own identity, the ‘Almighty Tree’ concept proposal by Saraiva + Associados aims to give people the chance to experience the city of Almaty by hovering above treetops. As seen before in Kazakhstan, this unique style of architecture offers the opportunity to involve everyone in a place where the city, in combination with environmental values and modern design, shapes an exciting and memorable idea. Full architects’ description after the break. (more…)
University of North Florida Interfaith Chapel Competition Entry / OAD

In their proposal for University of North Florida’s Interfaith Chapel, OAD concluded that the main challenge was to create more than just an impressive chapel, but a place in and of itself that would highlight the unique character and seclusion of the site. The team’s response engages visitors by encouraging unscripted exploration and discovery, gradually revealing the site, chapel, and accessory buildings as the user experience unfolds. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
Fire Shelter: 01 / SHJ Works

Designed by SHJ (Simon Hjermind Jensen) Works, Fire Shelter: 01 is a personal project located in at Sydhavnstippen in Copenhagen. Taking inspiration from architecture of ethnic and nomadic people, the starting point for the design emerged from a fascination of the place. It´s a temporary project and a design experiment that aims to celebrate the place. The project has public access, and it establishes experiences of spatial and social character. More images and architect’s description after the break. (more…)
Karakusevic Carson and David Chipperfield to Design Residential Towers in London

Karakusevic Carson and David Chipperfield have been announced as the “preferred bidder” for a pair of residential towers the East London district of Shoreditch. As reported on BDOnline, the £25 million project at Colville Estate will rise up to 14 and 20 stories high to replace the existing 1950‘s low-rise buildings. This will be the second and last phase of the largest council-backed housing development in London and the first UK mass housing project for Chipperfield.
Possible Mediums Conference

Taking place February 7-10, University of Illinois at Chicago School of Architecture, Ohio State University Knowlton School of Architecture, University of Kentucky College of Design, and University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture + Urban Planning will be presenting the Possible Mediums Conference. Taking place in Columbus, Ohio, the event is composed of a series of workshops and panel discussions revolving around four “possible mediums” which places a group of designers in productive dialog, unpacking their collective foundations and futures. Challenging the boundaries of architectural convention, the invited workshop leaders employ exploratory processes rooted in mediums external to the discipline (such as film or comics) or developed from atypical applications of more conventional mediums (such as drawings or models). For more information, please visit here.
Alberto Campo Baeza Awarded Heinrich Tessenow Gold Medal 2012

Following in the footsteps of Pritzker-Prize laureates Eduardo Souto de Moura and Peter Zumpthor, the distinguished Spanish architect Alberto Campo Baeza has just been awarded the Heinrich Tessenow Gold Medal for 2012 by the Alfred Toepfer Foundation in Hamburg. The award, given since 1962, is a recognition of work that, like that of German architect Heinrich Tessenow (1876-1950), is “uncompromising, sober and essential.”
The awards ceremony will take place on the 30th of January, 2013, in Hamburg. In his honor, the Hafeb City University in Hamburg will also be exhibiting some of Campo Baeza’s works.
Read the full Press Release, after the break.
‘White Cube, Green Maze: New Art Landscapes’ Exhibition

Opening February 14, and on view until May 4, Yale School of Architecture‘s ‘White Cube, Green Maze: New Art Landscapes’ exhibition will examine emerging trends in museum design through six new art sites that share the common thread of moving beyond the traditional “white cube” gallery space, and that juxtapose the experience of culture, art, architecture, and landscape. Featuring newly commissioned photography of these sites by Iwan Baan, each site represents a unique expression of the ambitions and collaborations of patrons, architects, landscape architects, artists, and curators. For more information, please visit here.
Beijing Agriculture University Library Winning Proposal / Tongji Architectural Design and Research Institute

The competition winning proposal for the Beijing Agriculture University Library is a successful addition to the existing campus. Designed by Tongji Architectural Design and Research Institute, their design takes care of all the functions while providing a comfortable environment for students to study and research. With a construction area of about 49,000m2, the library includes a self-study area, a restaurant, an auditorium, several offices and some meeting rooms. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
Vigdis Languages Center Proposal / OOIIO Architecture

Designed for the “Vigdis Foundation”, the Languages Center aims to be a rational building, where modulation is a key aspect. Designed by OOIIO Architecture, there is no architectural excess that might increase the budget, but quite singular and special at the same time, comfortable for users and interesting enough to get the pedestrians attention. Built to host exhibitions, a cinema-theater, café, library, and more, the construction of the building is efficient, quick and with a rational materials use. More images and architects’ description after the break.More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)

