Ever since the Industrial Revolution and the introduction of mass production, the ownership and use of simple products and services like flush toilets with running water, electricity, heating, and cooling are seen as human rights in many areas of the world. With the majority of homes and residential projects being individually designed and built to order – therefore without the speed and cost advantages of mass production – an underperforming housing construction sector means many people – even in the world’s richest countries – are being denied one of the most basic human rights, having somewhere to call home.
The UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency) states that there were over 100 million forcibly displaced people worldwide in 2023 – a figure that has tripled over the last 10 years. For host countries, finding safe, sustainable housing solutions for those in need, both in the short- and the long-term, is an ongoing and dramatically worsening challenge.
Taller Frida Escobedo has unveiled a new residential project to take shape in Brooklyn, New York. The 209,000-square-foot project titled after its location, Boerum Hill – Bergen, aims to become a contextual addition to the neighborhood, adapting its materiality and scale to the surrounding context. The developers, Avdoo & Partners, also enlisted Workstead for interior design, DXA for master planning, and DXA and Patrick Cullina for landscape design. The project is scheduled for completion in 2025.
Sloped terrain offers a tantalizing prospect for developers. With breathtaking views over either natural or urban landscapes, often without the realistic possibility of being overlooked by future development, a parcel of land on a slope provides a high reward. However, whether it’s the extra excavation involved to cut and fill or cantilever out on a flat surface, the complications of water drainage, or the loss of light and difficulty of access at the front of the property, building on sloped terrains is not without its difficulties.
But it’s not necessarily the angle of the site that’s most at fault, it’s the shape of the building. By splitting up a multi-story structure and repositioning – possibly even disconnecting – each level, projects designed to comply with the existing topography by applying multiple ground levels can reduce the amount of excavation required. The split floor plan can also help to improve access and natural light and increase both interior and exterior space.
MVRDV has revealed a large-scale residential complex to take shape as part of a new smart city campus built by technology company Tencent in Qianhai Bay, Shenzhen, China. MVRDV’s intervention, named Tencent P5, is comprised of 11 apartment towers arranged around four courtyards. The project also includes amenities such as an adjacent kindergarten, to offer all the necessary facilities for the company’s employees. Construction began in early 2022 and is scheduled for completion in 2024.
Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) has just begun renovating the iconic Schuylkill Tower in Monaco. Originally built in 1963, the tower currently stands tall as Monaco’s first-ever high-rise. ZHA conducted a feasibility study evaluating its development prospects and the scope of necessary renovations. This led to ZHA’s collaboration with local firm Square Architecte to revitalize and expand the iconic structure, set to be completed in May 2027.
LXK Office and Residential Campus. Image Courtesy of MVRDV
MVRDV has just begun construction on the LXK Office and Residential Campus in Berlin. Situated in Friedrichshain, near Berlin Ostbahnhof, the development spans approximately 61,200 sqm and boasts city center views from its green rooftops and terraces. Designed as two buildings, a horizontal band encircles the middle of either structure, serving as a distinctive landmark in Berlin.
This curated selection of the Best Unbuilt Architecture highlights projects submitted by the ArchDaily community that demonstrate the use of organic shapes in various forms of architecture and program use. Many times, organic architecture stands as a testament to what we are able to make in 2024, innovating in structural and material technology. From Vincent Callebaut’s HospiWood to Zomorrodi & Associates’ Cadence Art Center, these instances showcase this shift in desigin thinking. Whether its a residential villa in the United States or a resort centered around a curved pool in the Netherlands, organic architecture has been trending globally.
BIG has released sneak peek images into their “Not A Hotel Setouchi” project in Japan. The scheme draws inspiration from the surrounding beauty and Japanese landscape artworks, situated in the southwest cape of Sagi Island, overlooking the Seto Inland Sea. Consisting of three distinct holiday villas, Not A Hotel aims to blend Japanese and Danish architectural influences.
In 2017, Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) unveiled its designs for a project in central Copenhagen. The project features an urban IKEA store, a budget-friendly hotel, and residential apartments connected by green spaces. As a significant part of the development, BIG designed two high-rise residential towers known as “KaKtus Towers,” which are linked by a raised public park connecting them. Both towers, with the tallest at 80 meters high, are scheduled to be completed in 2024. A recently released new set of images showcases BIG’s development nearing completion.
MVRDV and LOLA Landscape Architects have just revealed the new development of “Grüne Mitte” in Düsseldorf, Germany. Centered around open communication, negotiation, and compromise, the project aims to introduce 500 new apartments and community spaces to enhance the neighborhood. Approximately 50% of the scheme is designated as social or affordable housing, which was designed in participatory processes with the residents.
Spring Rain, portico, wall and staircase for the Qianhai Harbour School, Shenzhen, 2022. In collaboration with Tu'an Architecture Design Company (Guangzhou). Image Courtesy of studio ACF
Courtesy of Architectural Dialogue | Elan - Meenakshi
Architecture competitions are platforms where innovation meets imagination, where the boundaries of what we know about design and architecture are relentlessly pushed. Serving as spaces for architects and designers to realize groundbreaking ideas, competitions challenge our conventions and shape our future environments. While countless creative concepts are proposed, only a handful are realized. In fact, these winning designs stand as a showcase for the creativity of architects, redefining our future built environments.
These winning projects demonstrate the global initiative to rethink the way we interact with spaces. HOKA fosters community interaction, while RITSO Resort merges tradition with modernity. Science Forest transforms museums into hubs for dialogue, and Elan-Meenakshi apartments in Hyderabad integrate urban living with green spaces. Ranging from Vietnam, Greece, Rome, to India, these examples showcase the transformative potential of architecture competition winners, reshaping our perception and interaction with the spaces we inhabit.
The ArchDaily projects library is managed by our curators who constantly seek to populate our stream with the most interesting global works, showcasing evolving focuses and criteria. While we usually share our reader’s top 100 favorites, this year, we also decided to initiate our editor’s picks on the ArchDaily Instagram account, where our curators highlight some projects that include interesting themes and unique traits.
Construction on MVRDV’s La Serre started. Situated in the ZAC Léon Blum eco-district in Issy-les-Moulineaux, just outside of Paris, and designed by MVRDV, in collaboration with landscape architect Alice Tricon, and developer OGIC, the scheme aims to challenge conventional apartment living by integrating nature into the urban setting. The project features housing units, shops, and ample greenery, aiming to create a haven of biodiversity.
MVRDV has revealed the design of a new residential complex located in the Enterprise Research Campus in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, a site adjacent to the Harvard Business School. The development, already under construction, features 343 apartments with a quarter of them dedicated to affordable units. It also includes amenities for the residents and retail spaces for small local businesses, aiming to create an inclusive and enjoyable space within the new urban district.
On a site that also hosts the Olympic Sports Centre, the 2023 Asian Games complex, UNStudio has unveiled the design of the new Hiwell Amber Centre, a complex of four high-rise towers planned to add a mix of offices, apartments, hotels, art spaces and retail to the city center of Hangzhou, China. Responding to the area’s rapid economic and cultural growth, the new development aims to provide a wide range of services to residents and visitors alike. To open up towards the city, the smooth glass curtain wall of the towers peels apart to reveal a tapestry-like facade that envelops the main plazas and civic spaces, creating an ‘urban living room.’
In Paris’ thirteenth arrondissement, the architecture office Moreau Kusunoki has completed Le Berlier, a 50-meter-tall timber tower housing residential units along with various other amenities. Situated at the intersection of multiple urban flows, networks, and scales, the project aims to find the middle ground between innovation, monumentality, and domesticity. The new residential center expresses its structural system through the grid of the façade, rendered in charred and pre-weathered wood.
