Architects Selected for Competition to Design Nobel Prize’s New Home
Out of 140 architects considered, 12 architects have been selected by the Nobel Foundation to compete to design their new home, a Nobel Center in Blasieholmen, Stockholm. The conspicuously European selection, chosen for their “design and artistic abilities and experience working in intricate urban environments,” includes some very big names – including BIG, David Chipperfield Architects, Herzog & de Meuron, and OMA. The only non-Europeans to compete will be SANAA’s Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa.
See the full list of competitors, and more information on the competition, after the break…
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.
UPDATE: Boltshauser Architekten Wins Competition To Design Basel Aquarium
As a follow up to our recent post on the recent win by Boltshauser Architekten for their Basel Aquarium design in Switzerland, we wanted to share with you the other entries by Zaha Hadid Architects, David Chipperfield Architects and Caruso St John Architects. Zaha Hadid’s ‘Blue Cave,’ while praised for its excellent quality, was criticised for its thin visitor aisles; the jury felt the “dynamic” styling of the building’s interior would have been in competition with the aquariums, and so the project came in third out of the 15 shortlisted entries. More information and images on the other entries, after the break.
Musée des Beaux-arts / David Chipperfield Architects
Arising from the historic town fortifications, David Chipperfield Architects’ new Musée des Beaux-arts is situated on the periphery of a long green space in between the old and new parts of Reims, France. The Gallo-Roman gate and the modernist market hall, located in its vicinity, are evidence of Reims’s architectural history from antiquity to modern times. Clad with marble slabs and glass ceramic panels, the translucent Musée des Beaux-arts building shares a site with an excavation area filled with mediaeval findings.
Continue reading to learn more about the Musée des Beaux-arts.
Finalists announced for the Menil Collection Expansion
Prior to becoming a Pritzker laureate, Italian architect Renzo Piano was commissioned to design the Menil Collection in a quiet inner-city neighborhood of Houston, Texas. Since celebrating its opening in 1987, the museum has expanded, adding Renzo’s second commission, the Cy Twombly Gallery (1995), along with the permanent, site-specific installation at Richmond Hall by minimalist sculptor Dan Flavin and the Byzantine Fresco Chapel (1997-2012) by owner Dominique de Menil. Surrounded by ample amounts of open space, the long-term master plan of the museum’s campus has been under the review of architect David Chipperfield.
Now, after an extensive international search to select the architect for the campuses new major addition that will house the Menil Drawing Institute (MDI), the architecture selection committee has announced the four architects under consideration. Once completed, MDI will be the first freestanding facility in America dedicated to modern and contemporary drawing, and one of the most advanced in the world.
Continue after the break to find out the finalists.
Chipperfield selected to renovate the Neue National Gallery in Berlin
David Chipperfield, Stirling Prize-winning architect and director of the 13th international Venice Biennale, has been commissioned by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (PCHF) to renovate the Neue National Gallery. The 20th century icon was designed by the legendary Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who celebrated his 126th birthday this week.
Hermann Parzinger, president of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, said: “With David Chipperfield, I know this icon of modern architecture in the best hands. In working with him on the Museum Island, I learned the sensitivity in dealing with the architectural heritage and the conceptual clarity of his approach is greatly appreciated.”
Shortlist announced for the North West Cambridge extension
In order to compete in an increasingly competitive global market and address long-term development needs, the University of Cambridge is undertaking an ambitious new urban extension in North West Cambridge. The master plan for the development, prepared by Aecom, lays out the framework for a new district centered on a mixed academic and urban community. With aspirations of achieving place that is well balanced, long-lasting and sustainable, the University is focused on creating a high quality of life for its residents that will enhance both the City and the University.
The University is now looking to appoint a number of architecture and landscape firms to design and deliver each proposed lot as part of the first phase of the extension. The shortlist consists of internationally renowned architects, including Bjarke Ingels Group and David Chipperfield Architects. Continue reading to learn more information on the extension and review the complete shortlist.
Video: David Chipperfield Discusses German Projects
British architect David Chipperfield recently gave an interview with Crane.tv discussing his architectural philosophy and affinity for the German culture. He expands on his approach to architecture and touches on his work for the completed reconstruction of the Neues Museum in Berlin. Be sure to check out some of his other recent works including; The Hepworth Wakefield art gallery in Wakefield, England, Turner Contemporary – a visual arts venue in Margate, England, America’s Cup Building in Valencia, Spain, and the Central Public Library in Des Moines, Iowa.
References: www.crane.tv, architecturalvideos.blogspot.com
Architecture City Guide: Madrid
This week, with the help of our readers, our Architecture City Guide is headed to Madrid. As the third largest city in the European Union, Madrid is the economic and political capital of Spain. The streets and neighborhoods for the most part remains historic, but the city is punctuated with moments of engaging and interesting contemporary architecture. For those who have followed our city guides, you will have noticed that this is our second stop in Spain. That said, Madrid is distinctly different from Barcelona. The differences between the two are manifested in their architecture, both old and new. Our lists only cover relatively recent projects, but a quick glance at the two will give you a sense of the differing cultures and lifestyles (Barcelona’s City Guide). Both lists are far from complete and we are looking to add to them in the near future. In the meantime add more of your favorites to the comment section below.
To check out other cities visit our world map or our Architecture City Guide page.
The Architecture City Guide: Madrid list and corresponding map after the break.
Architecture City Guide: Berlin
This week, with the help of our readers, our Architecture City Guide is headed to Berlin. The twentieth century changed nearly all cities, but perhaps none more so than Berlin. From its destruction in World War II that left few historic buildings intact to its division until 1989 that brought together the architecture of two competing ideologies into one city, Berlin’s modern and contemporary architecture speaks to a past that seldom accompanies such recent additions. The city is filled with new and wonderful architecture that might not have found space in other cities in Europe. With that in mind, we were unable feature all our readers’ suggestions on the first go around. We will be adding to the list in the near future, so please add more of your favorites in the comment section below. Once again, thanks to all our readers for your help.
The Architecture City Guide: Berlin list and corresponding map after the break.
Work Environments / DETAIL
We recently got to preview the newest addition to In DETAIL’s typological series, Work Environments: Spatial concepts, Usage strategies, Communications. It will be available next month (August 2011), and it is great for anyone who is interested in improving a user’s working conditions beyond the basic ergonomic and safety requirements. The first third of this volume deals with spatial organization, acoustics, lighting, and user satisfaction. The rest of the volume features projects from which the various concepts developed in the first third can be used to analyze them. I, personally, enjoyed the section on user satisfaction and how to measure it. After reading this section I speculated how researchers would control for the various confounding factors that exist in the uniqueness of each building presented in the rest of the book. This would not be an easy task by any means, but the necessity of such research is made clear throughout this volume.
Read more after the break.
Neues Museum / David Chipperfield Architects in collaboration with Julian Harrap
Winner of the prestigious Mies van der Rohe 2011 Award, The Neues Museum on Berlin’s Museum Island was originally designed by Friedrich August Stüler and built between 1841 and 1859. In 1997, David Chipperfield Architects won the international competition for the rebuilding of the Neues Museum in collaboration with Julian Harrap. The design focused on repairing and restoring the original volume, respecting the historical structure. Both the restoration and repair of the existing is driven by the idea that the original structure should be emphasized in its spatial context and original materiality – the new reflects the lost without imitating it.
Architects: David Chipperfield Architects in collaboration with Julian Harrap
Location: Berlin, Germany
Landscape Architect: Levin Monsigny Landschaftsarchitekten
Exhibition Design: architetto Michele de Lucchi S.r.L.
Structural Engineer: Ingenieurgruppe Bauen
Services Engineer: Jaeger, Mornhinweg+Partner Ingenieurgesellschaft
Site Supervision: Lubic & Woehrlin GmbH
Project Area: 20,500 sqm
Project Year: 2009
Photographs: Ute Zscharnt for David Chipperfield Architects, Courtesy of Flickr CC License / jonas-k, christiane-necker, stijn, audringje, dizdau
