Noorderpoort School for Vocational Education Proposal / Mecanoo Architecten
Construction just started last week for the Mecanoo Architecten designed Noorderpoort School for Vocational Education proposal. Located in Stadskanaal, the 8,500 m² school building designed will be situated like a country estate on a beautiful front garden with extensive watercourses in the middle of the village’s green hart. The project will provide an education for 1,300 students in the technology, health care, and business services sectors. The school is expected to open its doors in 2014. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Knowledge and Cultural Square Winning Proposal / Mecanoo Architecten + Code Arkitektur + Buro Happold
Just this Monday, Kongsberg City Council announced that Mecanoo Architecten, together with Code Arkitektur and Buro Happold, won the design competition for a Knowledge and Cultural Square in the center of Kongsberg, a former mining town about 75 kilometers southwest of Oslo, Norway. The project comprises of a design for a cultural and teaching building totaling approximately 24,000 m², and includes future expansion of other functions, such as student housing, sports facilities and businesses. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Shortlist announced for West Kowloon Cultural District’s first Arts Venue
The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) has announced five design teams invited to submit proposals for the Xiqu Center, which will be the first landmark building within Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District. Serving as the main theatre and Team House, the Xiqu Center will form the gateway into the £1.7bn, Foster-designed masterplan once it is complete towards the end of 2015.
Mr. Louis Yu, Executive Director, Performing Arts stated, “There has been a fantastic response to our plans for the Xiqu Centre from design teams from across the world. We are working hard to find the right team to work with to fulfill our ambitions. The shortlisted teams will meet with representatives of the Chinese opera artform, engaging with stakeholders so we can conceive together a world-class building for Hong Kong and for the development and promotion of this important form of Chinese cultural heritage.”
The five shortlisted teams are:
Calvijn Groene Hart School / Mecanoo Architecten
Designed by Mecanoo Architecten, the new building of the Calvijn Christian comprehensive school in Barendrecht just celebrated its topping out earlier this week. The 9,000 square-metre Calvijn Groene Hart site offers all forms of secondary-school education for roughly 1,250 pupils. The school building will come into use at the beginning of 2013. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Amsterdam International Golf Club Schiphol / Mecanoo Architecten
Amsterdam International Golf Club Schiphol, designed by Mecanoo Architecten, just started construction with completion scheduled for the end of 2012. The new exclusive golf club is located next to Schiphol Airport, a stone’s throw from Amsterdam’s Zuidas business district. The design of the linear state-of-the-art clubhouse reflects the ambitions of the Amsterdam International Golf Club and exudes exclusivity and style while contrasting with its hilly 77 hectare terrain. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Kaap Skil, Maritime and Beachcombers’ Museum Wins Daylight Award 2012 / Mecanoo Architecten
This year’s Daylight Award, a prestigious prize awarded by the Living Daylights Foundation that honors projects that reach an optimum result in combining daylight, artificial light and design, has been given to the Kaap Skil, Maritime and Beachcombers’ Museum on the Dutch island of Texl. Designed by Mecanoo Architecten, one can almost feel the weather because of the transparency of the building, according to the jury. “Sun, clouds, thunder and rain: outdoors comes inside as perception and emotion and this is a core quality for a building with the Wadden Sea at your doorstep.” More images and architects’ description after the break.
Onze Droomschool / Mecanoo Architecten
The design for Onze Droomschool by Mecanoo Architecten focuses on human scale and security as its key concepts. By splitting the building up into a family of little brick houses it reflects the typical saddleback roofs found in the vicinity of the school. The new 5,322 m² school, which began construction last month, rings together education, care and medical science. In addition to classrooms the building will house practical training studios, a mediatheque, music studio, sports centre and an outdoor Johan Cruijff court for soccer and basketball. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Primary School / Mecanoo Architecten
Mecanoo recently won the commission to design a new primary school in Mill, the Netherlands through a European procurement competition in combination with Giesbers-Wijchen Bouw. The 4,200 m² school building will be the new home for primary schools De Kameleon and De LenS, and houses a preschool, day and youth care and a youth and family center. Construction is to begin in 2013 with doors opening at the end of the summer in 2014. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Rio 2016 Olympic Park Proposal / Mecanoo Architecten
Mecanoo Architecten shared with us their design for the Rio 2016 Olympic Park, which will be the heart of the games. It was important to the architects to change the current paradigm, which opposes the real state logics to the public space quality, to a new one focused on the city’s sustainable development. Subdivided in programmatic bands in the direction north-south, the design is separated from each other by streets for cars and pedestrians. Therefore, this structure will determine the public character of the Olympic and Para-olympic Park, making it a vital part of the city, with lively public spaces and mixed-uses instead of a sectorized, monofunctional area. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Dutch Mountains / Francine Houben / Mecanoo Architecten
We are pleased to bring attention to the book Dutch Mountains that focuses on Francine Houben from Mecanoo Architecten and her inspiring work that spans the globe. We have featured Mecanoo Architecten before and you can see them here. Houben came to architecture like many great young architects who are driven by social idealism. “Uplifting the people, contributing to quality of life—that was the great goal.” Among being named Business Woman of the Year in Netherlands in 2008, Houben still works for social idealism. Houben says about her Birmingham library, “I want to create cohesion among the ethnic diversity of the city and the traces of its industrial past.”
Video: The Library of Birmingham Timelapse
Opening in 2013, the Library of Birmingham will be a major new cultural destination, rewriting the book for 21st century public libraries. Designed by international architects Mecanoo, the Library of Birmingham will be located in the city’s Centenary Square. Recently, the author of the architectural videos blog shared with us his time lapse video of the building.
In Progress: Amsterdam University College / Mecanoo architecten
Architect: Mecanoo architecten
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Client: University of Amsterdam
Structural engineer: ABT bv, Delft
MEP Engineer:Ingenieursburo Linssen b.v., Amsterdam
Acoustics consultant: DGMR, Arnhem
Cost consultant: Basalt Bouwadvies bv, Nieuwegein
Project management: Arohnsohn advising engineers, Rotterdam
Photographs: Courtesy of Mecanoo architecten
‘From Crèche to Campus – Mecanoo’s Educational Buildings, Present and Future’ Exhibition
On Thursday 29 September 2011 at 6:15 pm Jan Nieuwenburg, councillor of education in the city of Haarlem, will open the exhibition, ‘From Crèche to Campus – Mecanoo’s educational buildings, present and future’ in the ABC Architecture Centre in Haarlem, the Netherlands. This exhibition presents the educational buildings designed by Mecanoo Architecten analysed and placed in perspective against the backdrop of changes in society, ideas about education and the status of schools. The exhibition is open until November 27th. More information on the exhibition after the break.
