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Courtesy of Matteo Cainer Architects

The design of the new Swiss Embassy in Yaoundé, designed by Matteo Cainer Architects, pays tribute to its renewed presence in the Cameroon and a respect for the uniqueness of the site. The resulting proposal is an elegant ensemble that encapsulates the identity and self-image of the Swiss people and their values. The calm external simplicity of the proposal conceals an inner complexity while achieving a sustainable design, which was another key in the process. More images and architects’ description after the break. read more »

Courtesy of Juan Carlos Sabbagh

Architects: Juan Carlos Sabbagh
Location: Santiago, Chile.
Collaborators: Juan Diego Recabarren R, Nicolas Sabbagh C.
Area: 3.154 sqm
Date: 2009 – 2011
Photographs: Courtesy of Juan Carlos Sabbagh

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Written for students and practitioners in the fields of architecture and interior design, our new Architecture Brief Sustainable Design provides a concise overview of all the techniques available for reducing the energy footprint of structures and spaces. With clear, simple language and a practical “can-do” approach, author David Bergman covers everything from the profession’s ethical responsibility, to design structures and spaces that sustain our natural resources, to specific considerations such as rainwater harvesting, graywater recycling, passive heating techniques, solar orientation, green roofs, wind energy, daylighting, indoor air quality, material evaluation and specification, and how to work with green building certification programs. read more »

© Michael Moran

Architects: Rice+Lipka Architects 
Location: New York, NY, USA
Project Team: Benjamin Cadena (Project Architect), Karl Larson (Project Manager), Andrew Dadds (Designer) 
Area: 4,400 sqf
Photographs: Michael Moran, Rice+Lipka Architects 

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© Marvin Rand

Architects: Brooks + Scarpa Architects
Location: 1330 4th Street, Santa Monica, California, USA
Principal in Charge: Lawrence Scarpa
Design Team: Angela Brooks, Jackson Butler, Adam Davis, Mike Ferguson, John Jennings, Gwynne Pugh, Lawrence Scarpa
Furniture and Fixture Design: Mike Ferguson, John Jennings and Lawrence Scarpa (with Dave Scott)
Steel and Furniture Fabrication: Dave Scott of DESU
Construction Team: Brian Crommie and Tom Hinerfeld of BT Builders
Client/Owner: Stoney Road Productions and Reactor Films
Total Square Footage: 7,000 sq. ft.
Costs: $350,000.00 ($50.00/sq. ft.) includes building shell upgrades
Photographs: Marvin Rand

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The Wall Street Journal's Graphic presenting the Data in "New Tech City," a report by the Center for an Urban Future.

A report released by the Center for an Urban Future has positioned New York City as the fastest growing tech sector in the country, outpacing Boston to become the U.S.’s #2 Tech Hub (only behind Silicon Valley).

Its rapid growth – a 28.7% increase of tech-related jobs in five years and a 32% increase in venture capital deals (compare that to the national average of -11%) – has been attributed to the diversification of its startup tech companies, focused not on creating new technologies, but on providing technological solutions to existing industries.

However (as we noted earlier this week in “The Next Silicon Valley(s)“)  there is another “key” factor to the city’s burgeoning innovation and entrepreneur scene – the city itself.

Read More on how New York City’s Urban lay-out is encouraging its technological boom, after the break.

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© Patrick Reynolds

Architects: RTA Studio
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Architects Team: Richard Naish (Design Director), Tim Melville (Technical Director), Ben Hayes (Studio Director/Project Architect)
Builder: Macrennie Commercial Construction Limited
Completion: 2009
Building Size: 9,600 sqm
Photographs: Patrick Reynolds

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MAXXI Museum © Mark Hogan

Two weeks ago, we reported that Zaha Hadid Architects famed Maxxi Museum may face closure, as the high-profile museum was placed under special administration after the government uncovered a €800,000 hole in Maxxi’s 2011 accounts. With major budget cuts in cultural funding slashing the museum’s €11 million budget to less than €2 million for 2012, the future of the Maxxi remains unknown. However, as reported on BD Online, Maxxi president Pio Baldi has resigned and Italian architect Antonia Pasqua Recchia has been appointed to take his place.

Recchia has announced that she will to do everything possible to keep the Maxxi afloat and preserve the museum’s prestigious reputation on the international stage. She plans seek corporate sponsorship and private funding to make up lost funds and save the museum from closure. read more »

© Nguyen Quang Phuc - Vo Trong Nghia

Architect: Vo Trong Nghia
Location: Hanoi, Vietnam
Architects in charge: Vo Trong Nghia, Masaaki Iwamoto, Takashi Niwa, Kosuke Nishijima
Completion: April 2012
Photographs: Nguyen Quang Phuc, Vo Trong Nghia

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Courtesy of 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. read more »

Photo © Alan Karchmer/Sandra Benedum

Architects: Schwartz/Silver Architects
Location: West Stockbridge, MA, USA
Completion: 2009
Photographs: Alan Karchmer/Sandra Benedum

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Minutes from the Kremlin lies Bar Strelka, a revisited loft space housed in a former confectionery factory, which serves as a hub for the students of Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design. Formerly heading the institution’s educational programme was world renowned architect Rem Koolhaas, now one of the five research theme directors. The institute’s aim is to develop fresh perspectives on key issues in contemporary Russia, bringing architects, intellectuals and designers together under one roof. Roman Mazurenko, the Special Projects Director shows Crane.tv around the bar and chats to them about the institute’s programme and why it will revolutionise Moscow’s landscape.

Pratt 2012 Commencement. Photo by René Perez.

Earlier this week, Pratt Institute extended an invitation to the ArchDaily team to attend their 123^rd commencement, celebrating the achievements of  1300 bachelor’s and master’s degree candidates at Radio City Music Hall.   The event also marked a special day of recognition for four honorary degree recipients:  artist/curator/critic Ai Weiwei, architect, engineer and artist Santiago Calatrava, patron on the arts and education Kathryn Chenault, and the Metropoitan Museum of Art’s longest-serving director Philippe de Montebello.

We were privileged to have an opportunity to congratulate Mr. Calatrava on his doctor of architecture degree, and pose ArchDaily’s traditional interview questions.   Mr. Calatrava’s contributions to the professions of architecture and engineering can be found scattered across the world, and bring a sense of dynamism that result from the merge between art and technology, expression and functionality.

Calatrava’s charm and good humor made for a friendly conversation that we hope you enjoy.

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© Fernando Alda

Architects: Viar Estudio Arquitectura – Iñigo de Viar Fraile
Location: Baeza, Jaen, Spain
Developers: Junta de Andalucía. Empresa Pública de Suelo de Andalucía. Ayuntamiento de Baeza.
Built Area: 3.539 sqm + 645 sqm of courtyards
Total Budget: 6.481.437,32 euros
Completion: 2011
Photographs: Fernando Alda

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© Steve King Photography

Architects: Space International Inc
Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA
Principal in Charge: Michael Ferguson
Project Architect: Kelly Van Oteghem
Year: 2008
Area: 2,000 sqm
Photographers: Joshua White Photography, Steve King Photography

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