© Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects

Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects has won the competition to design a 54,000m2 concert, congress and hotel complex in Malmö, Sweden. The competition, where Snøhetta, Baumschlager Eberle and Daniel Libeskind participated, also included the development of additionally 35,000m2 for housing and commercial use. This is the second competition won by schmidt hammer lassen architects in the southern part of Sweden in 2010.

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Back in 2008, we told you Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects was one of the three offices in competition to design the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. Today, the Danish office was selected as the winner and will design the new Court.

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Schmidt hammer lassen architects have won a competition for a Congress and Hotel Centre on the central harbour front of Helsingborg in Sweden, which is a 15-minute ferry trip from Elsinore in Denmark. The property development competition was won in conjunction with Swedish developer Midroc and engineering/architect consultants Sweco.

Architect’s description and more images after the break. read more »

Schmidt hammer lassen architects, whose project Urban Mediaspace was featured a couple of weeks ago in ArchDaily, have been announced as winners of the competition for a new zero-energy administration building of the Municipality of Aarhus. The competition, involving six firms, was won in collaboration with the contractor E. Pihl & Son, Engineers Grontmij / Carl Bro and GHB Landscape Architects.

Schmidt hammer lassen architects has taken the environmental ambitions of the municipality of Aarhus as a key driver for the project and created a zero-energy office building, the first of its kind in Denmark. The building has 1,100 m2 of solar cells for the production of electricity, 420 m2 of solar thermal panels for absorption cooling and heating water, and rainwater harvesting for reuse in lavatories and for watering.

More images and full architect’s description after the break. read more »

© SHL

Libraries are something that has been revolving my head ever since I read some writings by Kahn on the Exeter Academy Library. Part of my graduate studies focused on how this typology has evolved during this last few years, moving between the silent sanctuary  of books we find at Exeter and new public spaces like OMA’s Seattle Library.

As the publishing/reading platforms are changing at an unprecedented speed (Web 2.0, eReaders and the Kindle, an upcoming “Hulu for Magazines”), physical libraries have the challenge to be a place for research, gathering, socializing… being built today, to house activities in the future that we don´t even know yet.

© SHL

A good example is the ongoing “Urban Mediaspace”, a project by danish practice Schmidt / Hammer / Lassen Architects which will be completed by 2014. The project is part of a large scale urban renewal project to regenerate the docks area in Aarhus, Denmark.

A big covered public space offers the flexibility needed for this kind of program, enclosed by a transparent skin that connects the outside public space with the new interior public space.

Project description and more images after the break. Thanks to Trine from SHL for sharing this project with us:

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Danish architectural company schmidt hammer lassen architects + Lund+Slaatto Architects have won a 52,863 m2 mixed-use complex “Konstitucijos Avenue 21” in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.

The project is the result of a successful collaboration with Oslo-based Lund+Slaatto Architects, a strategic partner of schmidt hammer lassen architects.

The client had requested cross-scandinavian architect teams for the task which led Lund+Slaatto to invite schmidt hammer lassen to join them. Architect’s description and more images after the break. read more »

Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects was recently announced as the winner to design ‘Urban Mediaspace’, the largest public library in Scandinavia. The 228 million euro project is located in Aarhus, Denmark and is only the latest in the studio’s history of library designs. Other finalist in the competition included Mecanoo, GPP architects and A-team, a collaboration between two danish studios, Aart and Arkitema.

Schmidt Hammer Lassen’s deisgn aims to re-examine the traditional concept of library design. Rather than focusing on books, the building is envisioned as a hub for social interaction that includes indoor and outdoor recreation spaces, as well as studying, socialising and relaxing areas. Measuring 30,000 square metres, ‘Urban Mediaspace’ is located in Aarhus’s old cargo docks area. The building is heptagonal in shape and features a glazed-facade.

Seen at designboom. More images after the break. read more »

Our friends from SHL architects just sent us their new project. They won an international competition to design “Urban Mediaspace”, the largest public library in Scandinavia. The € 228 million scheme, located in Aarhus, Denmark, will become a new visual and cultural focal point for the city whilst pioneering the next generation of library design.

SHL Architects’ innovative, 30.000 m2 scheme reassesses traditional concepts of library design. Instead of a building focused around books, “Urban Mediaspace” is a hub of social interaction, incorporating interior and exterior recreational spaces for studying, socialising, and relaxing. The building will also have the capacity to host multi-media and cultural events.

The building’s distinctive heptagonal-shape design will be a landmark in Aarhus. The library’s offices will have impressive panoramic views over the harbour with steps leading out on to the waterfront. SHL Architects’ design connects the library to the Aarhus River by creating an external recreational area that will run along the south side of the “Urban Mediaspace”. The building’s glazed façade will create light, well-ventilated interior spaces whilst also making the inside of the library visible to passersby, inviting the community inside.

Images after the break. read more »