Video: London Festival of Architecture
To coincide with the London Festival of Architecture and the London 2012 Olympics, Gallery Libby Sellers is currently holding an exhibition entitled Games. The show laterally interprets its title and the theme of ‘play’ by focusing on chess, other games and their accessories, with pieces designed by Rolf Sachs, Aberrant Architecture and Studio Frith, among others. We interview Simon Hasan about his Slice chess set and Paul Kelley on his games table and try to understand why chess is such a perennial form of entertainment, whilst Libby Sellers herself takes us through the inspiration for the exhibition.
Video: London & UK RedBall
This summer, New York artist Kurt Perschke brought his celebrated art project RedBall to the UK. Co-produced by Torbay Council and The Dartington Hall Trust, it arrived on the streets of the English Riviera in Torbay in June before touring to Plymouth, Exeter, Weymouth & Portland and London, finishing the tour at Dartington Hall and popping up in a total of 20 sites. The project engaged thousands of people on its tour of alleyways, underpasses, high streets, town squares, heritage sites and bridge arches across the country. Alongside the tour, the RedBall UK education project worked with hundreds of young people and staff in 5 schools to raise the aspirations and achievements of Year 6 pupils. Text Courtesy of Danny Cooke. For more information on RedBall UK, please visit here.
London 2012 Basketball Arena / Wilkinson Eyre Architects
Architects: Wilkinson Eyre Architects
Location: Olympic Park North (Stop M), London Borough of Hackney, London E9, UK
Project Team: SKM with Wilkinson Eyre Architects and KSS
Project Year: 2011
Project Area: 11500.0 sqm
Photographs: Edmund Sumner
London Olympics 2012: Olympic Park
July 27, 2012 marks the opening ceremonies of the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games. As the Olympics approach closer, the eyes of the world will inevitably turn to London and its new infrastructure. Over the past 12 months, the Olympic Park in London’s struggling east side has changed dramatically. With the structures of the main sporting venues complete, you can now get a real feel for the layout of the park and the compact nature of the site. More images and information after the break.
The Tanks Open / Tate Modern / Herzog + de Meuron
With the success of the Tate Modern (the museum hosts approximately 2 million visitors a year), in 2005, the museum selected Herzog and de Meuron to expand its gallery space by nearly 70%. Since that time, we have shared the transformation of the design which began as an irregularly stacked pyramid of glass boxes to a geometric faceted volume clad in perforated brick. Yet, the expansion plans also include a vital component that is buried underground – the Tanks – which opened earlier this week.
More about the Tanks after the break.
London Festival of Architecture 2012 / Nicholas Kirk Architects
Architects: Nicholas Kirk Architects
Location: London, England
Project Year: 2012
Project Area: 50.0 sqm
Photographs: Robin Hayes
Video: London Pleasure Garden
Located in the Olympic East End, the London Pleasure Gardens is a new 20-acre riverside arts and entertainment destination. Patterned after the Pleasure Gardens of the 17th and 19th Centuries, LPG invites visitors to listen to music, admire paintings, stroll, drink, flirt and immerse themselves in culture. Featuring open-air concerts, dance and theatre arenas, historic and contemporary architecture, an urban nature reserve, a boutique hotel and a floating cocktail bar, LPG will evolve over the next three years, acting as an entertainment centre but also a platform for artists and musicians to showcase their work to the public. Here, we speak to LPGs creative director, Deborah Armstrong about the project, the regeneration of the Royal Docks and the artists and architects involved.
Rear House Extension, Garden Design / LBMV Architects
Architects: LBMV Architects – Luigi Montefusco
Location: Wolseley Rd, London Borough of Haringey, England
Architect In Charge: Luigi Montefusco
Project Year: 2011
Photographs: LBMV Architects
Video: New V&A Project / Amanda Levete
Planning permission for a new extension to the Victoria & Albert Museum has officially been granted today. The £41 million project will be the biggest new art space in London since the Tate Modern.The bid to design a 1,500 square metre underground gallery for temporary exhibitions, courtyard and entrance on Exhibition Road was won by architecture firm, AL_A, in March 2011. We interview Amanda Levete, founder and director of the firm, about the specifics of the plans and her thoughts on the government’s support of British architecture. Amanda Levete is one of the most successful women in architecture and is married to Ben Evans, director of The London Design Festival. She regularly collaborates with artists such as Anish Kapoor and has previously worked on projects such as the Selfridges department store in Birmingham, the media centre at Lord’s cricket ground and, with her own firm, installing ‘The Timber Wave’ in the entrance to the V&A.
London 2012 Velodrome / Hopkins Architects
Architects: Hopkins Architects
Location: Velodrome, London Borough of Newham, London E15, UK
Project Year: 2012
Photographs: Richard Davies, David Poultney, Anthony Charlton, Hopkins Architects, Anthony Palmer
Does the Shard Need Time?
The disappointment generated by the Shard’s opening laser light show is not so surprising for a project that has been grounded in controversy for over a decade. Since 2000, when Piano sketched his initial vision upon meeting developer Irvine Sellar, the project has consistently met obstacles such as English Heritage and the financial crash of 2007. But, the biggest opposition of the tower has been its height. English Heritage claimed that the tower, formerly known as London Bridge Tower, would “tear through historic London like a shard of glass” (ironically, coining the new name of the tower), and Piano counters that, “The best architecture takes time to be understood…I would prefer people to judge it not now. Judge it in 10 years’ time.”
Leading us to wonder…does the Shard simply need time to be fully appreciated?
The Cube in London / Park Associati
The Cube, a nomadic, stateless and cosmopolitan piece of architecture designed by Park Associati, is a pavilion designed to host a small, temporary restaurant. Originating from Electrolux’s concept of an itinerant restaurant, The Cube has been conceived and organized by the Belgian event agency Absolute Blue with the logo and texture design by Studio FM Milano. Their architectural project has been conceived as a module that can be assembled and disassembled relatively easily. The structure, which will be on exhibit in London until September 30, is suitable for all climatic conditions, even the most extreme, while always providing the maximum in living comfort with its refined aesthetics and use of high-quality materials. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Southbank Centre Shortlist Announced!
The UK’s largest arts centre, occupying an 21-acre site that sits in the midst of London’s most vibrant cultural quarter on the South Bank of the Thames, has announced the shortlist of architects competing to head the refurbishment and renewal of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery complex. According to a statement released by the Southbank Centre, the project plans to bring the performance spaces and galleries in the complex up to the standard of the recently transformed Royal Festival Hall and will address current urgent problems including poor access to and the upgrading of the stages and galleries; sub-standard back stage areas; and worn out services.
The eight shortlisted practices are:
Videos: London Olympics 2012 Time Lapse
This post features time lapses of the construction of various venues that will be hosting the 2012 London Olympics. With the opening ceremony Friday, July 27, these construction time lapses give you an inside look to all of the effort put into the games. If you get a chance to watch the games, you will now have a new found appreciation for the amount of work it takes to hold a major event such as this. More videos after the break.
The Shard’s Opening Celebration
Tonight, Renzo Piano’s Shard will officially celebrate its opening complete with an amazing light show. A dozen lasers and thirty searchlights will beam streams of light across the city, creating a network between 15 other significant landmarks in London, such as the Gherkin, London Eye, Tate Modern, and Tower Bridge. (So, if you are in London, don’t miss the event at 10.15 this evening, and be sure to share some photos with us!)
Capping out at 310 meters, the Shard has become the tallest building in London, as well as the entire European Union. We have been following the history of Renzo Piano’s creation, and although laden with financial troubles, a change in developers, and criticism from Londoners, the project has finally reached completion.
More about the history of the tower after the break.
Amhurst Road / Edgley Design
Architects: Edgley Design
Location: London, England
Client: Laura Hamilton
Project Year: 2011
Photographs: Edgley Design
Shortlist Announced for the Redevelopment of the Quadrangle at Strand Campus
RIBA Competitions recently announced that six teams have now been selected to take part in the design stage of the competition for King’s College London to redevelop the Quadrangle at the historic Strand Campus in London. The shortlisted teams include: Barozzi Veiga Studio, Carme Pinos Studio, Eric Parry Architects, Hall McKnight, Henley Halebrown Rorrison, and Zaha Hadid Architects. Ian Caldwell, Director of Estates & Facilities at King’s, said: ‘We are very pleased with the variety and high standard of submissions and look forward to the development of an innovative, landmark design that will enhance the surrounding historic architecture’. More information on the competition after the break.
Canada Water Library / CZWG Architects
Architects: CZWG Architects
Location: 21 Surrey Quays Rd, London Borough of Southwark, England
Project Year: 2011
Project Area: 2,900 sqm
Photographs: Tim Crocker
Video: W London Hotel
W Hotels opens its latest flagship in Leicester Square, London. With a rock and roll-inspired bar, a 38-seat 3D screening room and a restaurant run by three-Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, it stays true to its design and luxury roots.
Emirates Air Line / Wilkinson Eyre Architects
Architects: Wilkinson Eyre Architects
Location: A Royal Docks, 23 E Ham Manor Way, London, Greater London E6 5NA, UK
Project Director: Oliver Tyler
Project Architect: Alex Kyriakides
Project Year: 2012
Photographs: Wilkinson Eyre Architects
Steven Holl reveals Design Concept for Maggie’s Barts
As we announced earlier, Steven Holl Architects has been selected to design the Maggie’s Center at St. Bartholomew’s (Barts) Hospital in London. Situated at the periphery of the square, Maggie’s Barts will replace an existing 1960s block that was once used for offices. An average of 3,100 new cancer patients is expected to use the facility each year.
Steven Holl said: “It is a great honor to design a Maggie’s Centre and a very special challenge to be given such an important central site in London. The hospital has been at the forefront of medical understanding for centuries. We are inspired by the deep history of the area, and particularly the nearby St. Bartholomew the Great church which has been in continuous use with marvelous music since 1143. Our proposal is like a vessel within a vessel within a vessel. In the spirit of music, architecture can be a vessel of transcendence.”
Continue after the break to learn more.
