In an effort to transform the Finsbury Square landmark building, the 'Alphabeta' Creative Workspace by Studio RHE is set to become the new center for London’s most progressive and challenging companies.The development, set over nine storeys, will provide a dynamic shared atrium space, communal roof-terrace, ‘ride-in’ cycle ramp direct from Worship Street. The building’s original period features are to be restored and celebrated but the fabric and services are to be fully updated throughout with exposed wall finishes and ducting to ensure high ceiling levels. More images and architects' description after the break.

Focusing on water and sustainability, the Roca London Gallery will be hosting for the We Are Water Foundation. Their program, which going on now until March 23^rd, includes the exhibition 'Water for Thought: Life-Changing Design' and exciting events during the month including Water as a Source of Inspiration, with Zaha Hadid Architects, on Thursday, March 14^th and World Water Day, which will help Roca raise £2,500, on Friday, March 22^nd. The exhibition aims to generate awareness of global water problems through a mixture of design, technology and video. Demonstrating how people can use their creativity to create awareness and provide solutions to water-related problems, some of the World’s most innovative product designs for accessing, transporting or purifying water in developing countries will be on show. For more information, please visit here.

Expanding on the capabilities of the parametric tool, Grasshopper, Kangaroo provides creative professionals with the ability to integrate physics-based simulation techniques into their workflow. In applications ranging from architectural to product design, Mode Lab's 2-day intensive workshop taking place March 9-10 from 10:00am-6:00pm will cover advanced techniques for modeling adaptable components using dynamic constraints and forces in a performance-oriented environment. In a fast-paced and hands-on learning environment, you will learn techniques for using Parametric Design, Physics-Based Simulation, and Component Detailing for Digital Fabrication. To register, and for more information, please visit here.

Conceived by visionary developer Moritz Gruppe and designed by internationally acclaimed architects, LAVA, the three towers of gold, silver, and bronze and three diagonal shaped city blocks make up THE:SQUARE³, a new mixed use development inspired by sport that revitalizes a unique urban quarter in Berlin. With the theme, 'Life, Nature, Sports', their mixed-use concept is perfectly adapted and related to the nearby environment and reflects the local centre of excellence for high-performance sport, promotes local, national and global sports, generating positive social, health and economic benefits to the area. More images and architects' description after the break.

Videos

Currently on display at the Portland Museum of Art until May 19, 'Voices of Design: 25 Years of Architalx' showcases the power of design through an interactive exhibition featuring work of some of the world's leading architects and designers. The display, designed by architects Tim Ventimiglia and Jennifer Whitburn of Ralph Appelbaum Associates, includes a 17-foot-tall tower with three levels of images that alternately reveal themselves and disappear. A dynamic image projection will light up two sides of the tower by using projectors embedded in the interior of the tower and will feature infrared light sensors, creating touch interactivity for visitors. More images and information on the exhibition after the break.

Last year, we were reached by the organizers of Treehouses in Paradise Competition in order to help them spread the word. A couple of days later, we realized the competition was in fact a scam, so we took the call for proposals down, and published this statement.

Coming up this Friday, March 8th, from 2:00pm-4:30pm EST, Mode Lab will be hosting the Organic Modeling: Precision Sculpting with TSplines for Rhino webinar offering guided curriculum and continuous support with the goal of providing you with an in-depth and personal learning experience. The principles and rationale behind T-Splines will be covered, providing students with the resources to model shapes of any complexity as a single smooth, water-tight surface. Additionally, this intensive course will introduce techniques for working with polygonal and box modeling, direct surface editing, and local definition tools interchangeably. To register, and for more information, please visit here.

Seattle-based architect Jim Olson of Olson Kundig Architects has been selected by Washington State University to design a new Museum of Art. Over the years, Olson has complied a spectacular portfolio of stunning homes designed for art collectors worldwide. This experience has given Olson a “wealth of experience in not only crafting beautiful environments for works of art, but in working with artists to discover new opportunities for expressing their creativity,” according to Chris Bruce, director of the museum.

The proposal by NL Architects and WHAT Architecture for the Columnar Towers: Colville Estate competition attempts to mitigate the effects of a large massing of residences by breaking each tower into a 'bundle' of seven smaller towers, or ‘columns’. Each mini-tower is formed by simple 'stacks' of single apartments. This residential development of 199 apartments in Hackney, London is part of a masterplan by Karakusevic Carson Architects for the regeneration of the Colville Estate. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Who should design public spaces? Should they even be designed at all? Can public space make a meaningful contribution to solving the world’s environmental problems? How should the success of a public space be measured?

Architectural Competitions may be regarded as an opportunity or a burden. There are numerous architectural practices that gained significant attention for their submissions and winnings in highly publicized competitions, but the reality is that architectural competitions are expensive and do not guarantee reward. And yet, they are an opportunity to engage in a critical dialogue about the projects at hand, and may be approached with more creative and imaginative risk than when working directly with a client, which is probably why they are so popular and numerous. They are also an opportunity to bring the public into conversations about architecture in the public forum . These are just some of the considerations that The Architecture Foundation hopes to tackle in its new series, "And the Winner is...?".

Slant is inviting contestants to participate in this year's competition, themed 'Evoking Memories', which calls for a design for a show garden which, if selected will become part of SlantFest, their new on-line garden festival for summer 2013. Open to any global location of your choice, you may choose to represent a memory of a place or event, childhood memories, or opt to commemorate or to celebrate a person or persons, even a nation. It’s up to you to decide, and your inspiration could be either well known, or perhaps just personal to you. The deadline for submissions is May 20. For more information, please visit here.

As part of Cornell University's Rome 2013 Lecture Series, Pablo Castro, founder of OBRA Architects will be delivering the 'Hexameter' lecture this Thursday, March 7th, at the Palazzo Lazzaroni in Rome at 6:00pm. A 2012 Rome prize winner, Castro's design direction at OBRA has produced a body of award-winning projects including four AIANY Design Awards and two Chicago Athenaeum American Architecture Awards. He is also a 2006 NYFA Fellow in Architecture/Environmental Structures and a 2003 Society of Architectural Historians de Montëquin Senior Fellow, which are just some of the many awards received. For more information on the event, please visit here.

Calling all students, architects, designers, artists, engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs!

White Architects has just been selected as the winner of the competition to relocate the City Center of Kiruna, located in the north of Sweden. Their proposal, titled “Kiruna 4-ever”, creates a sustainable vision for the long-term expansion of the city eastwards. It allows for the further development and broadening of Kiruna’s mix of cultures and diverse population by creating a welcoming and global city, unique in its placement within the arctic landscape. The proposal strives to create a destination of great dignity, attractive venues and fantastic living environments. More images and architects' description after the break.

Taking place this Thursday, March 7th, at 6:00pm, the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) will present the first 2013 Mellon Lecture, a free event, featuring Japanese architect Yoshiharu Tsukamoto, founding partner of Atelier Bow-Wow in Tokyo with Momoyo Kaijima. Yoshiharu Tsukamoto will present his concept of Architectural Behavior, which investigates the physical responses to natural elements such as light, air, heat, wind, water, human behavior related to custom, and the way in which buildings relate to the city and their surroundings. For more information, please visit here.

Organized by the LIXIL JS Foundation, the 3rd LIXIL International University Architectural Competition invites university research laboratories from around the world for a site-specific challenge, with this year's theme of 'Retreat in Nature". The site is Memu Meadows in Taiki-cho, Hokkaido, Japan, which is composed of experimental sustainable projects including Même by architect Kengo Kuma. Calling for innovative solutions for sustainable architecture, the winning team is invited to construct the project on the site. The deadline for submissions is March 29. For more information, please visit here.

Terreform ONE is holding the annual ONE Prize event, which aims to explore the social, economic, and ecological possibilities of urban transformation and design. This years theme is 'Stormroof' with a call to deploy ecologically sound design to mitigate storm impact through urban interventions, protective parks, shorelines, alternative housing and public space models. The competition is open to students, professionals, and individuals of all backgrounds. The deadline for submissions is August 31. To register, and for more information, please visit here.