Introducing Living Architecture
With all the projects we feature, it becomes second nature to envision yourself occupying that space if not only to critique its success, but also to merely imagine what it would be like to live there. But, what if, instead of just daydreaming about living in a certain residence designed by your favorite architect, you could actually spend a week or two in a house designed by Peter Zumthor, or JVA, or even MVRDV? Living Architecture, a new not-for-profit organization, offers the chance to rent houses in different areas of Britain for a vacation starting at £20 per person per night. ”We are dedicated to introducing you to the best of contemporary architecture, as well as to curating unique and enjoyable holidays,” explained the organization.
More about Living Architecture after the break.
Seabank Cottage / Manalo & White
Architect: Manalo & White
Location: Cley Next The Sea, Norfolk, UK
Project Architect: Brian Greathead
Project Team: Brian Greathead, Stephen Beasley, Ashley Seaborne, Paola Marra
Contractor: Green Building Solutions
Structural Engineer: Adam Power Associates
Project Year: 2008-2009
Construction year: 2009
Text: David Grandorge
Photographs: David Grandorge
Pizza East / Michaelis Boyd
Architect: Michaelis Boyd Associates
Location: London
Contractor: Giles Contracts Management Ltd.
M&E Contractor: Link Projects Limited
Kitchen: Exclusive Ranges
Structural Engineer: Akera Engineers
Photographs: Richard Lewisohn
RIBA takes the Stirling Prize to the BBC
The RIBA has announced that this year’s Stirling Prize will be shown on BBC Two’s The Culture Show, after viewing figures dipped to an all time low on Channel 4 last year.
The awards ceremony will continue to be hosted by Kevin McCloud but will be shown in an earlier slot, airing from 6.30 pm on Saturday October 2 live from London’s Roundhouse.
Only 500,000 viewers tuned to watch Rogers Stirk Harbour’s Maggies Center win the Stirling Prize live on Channel 4 last October, falling from 1.2 million in 2004.
The show was broadcast between 8pm-9pm and the RIBA blamed the low viewing figures on a clash with the X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing. But the figures prompted calls from the architectural community to rethink the format of the show, which has been broadcast on national television for ten years.
RIBA president Ruth Reed described the new union between the RIBA and the BBC as “fantastic”. Mark Bell, the BBC’s commissioning editor for art, said: “As part of the BBC’s commitment to the arts we’re delighted to be shining the light on the very best in British architecture. The Culture Show, which reflects the best of the cultural landscape, is the perfect vehicle for delivering a strong live programme about architecture.”
Seen at bdonline.
South London Gallery / 6a Architects
Architect: 6a Architects
Location: 65 Peckham Road, London SE5 8UH
Team: Tom Emerson, Stephanie Macdonald, Takeshi Hayatsu (project associate),
Max Beckenbauer, Alessandro Cairo, Sylvie Duvoisin, Trevor Brown, Lucia
Frescaroli, Max Retegui, Mariana Simoes, Susanne Sauter, Eva-Maria Stadelmann, Katharina Schworer, Jonathan Wong
Client: South London Gallery
Structural engineer: Jane Wernick Associates
M&E engineer: Serge Lai Engineers Ltd.
Quantity surveyor: Stockdale
Main contractor: John Perkins Projects
Year: 2006-2010
Photographs: David Grandorge and 6a Architects
The Emirates Glass LEAF Awards
This year’s Emirates Glass LEAF Awards entry categories have been announced. This prestigious event, once again sponsored by Emirates Glass, will take place on 10 September 2010. Following the success of last year’s event which took place in Berlin, the 2010 LEAF Awards, now in their seventh year, move to London, where it will attract entries from around the world.
The awards are open to individuals and organisations that have made an outstanding contribution to the world of architecture. Previous winners have included Woods Bagot, Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects, Zaha Hadid, David Chipperfield, SOM, Steven Holl and Terry Farrell. There are 9 categories and the closing date for entries is July 1. For more information, visit the LEAF Awards official website. Seen at Bustler.
RIBA 2010 Award winners
The Royal Institute of British Architects just announced 102 buildings that were awarded for the 2010 Awards. These buildings, 93 sprawled across the UK and 9 in the rest of the EU, include 6 which were nominated for the Stirling Prize.
More about the winners and more images after the break.
House on a Hill / Paterson Architects
Architects: Paterson Architects
Location: Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: Keith Hunter Photography
Integrated Habitat Design Competition
Integrated habitat design ensures that development maintains the health of the natural systems that we all depend on. The focus of the IHDC competition is to ensure that working with nature, adapting to climate change and enhancing biodiversity is integral to the design of new urban, suburban and rural built developments.
Submissions can be for any built environment design project in an urban, suburban or rural location, of any size, anywhere in the UK and must take into account each of the Design Criteria (Ecosystem Services, Nature, Water, Energy & low-carbon, Livability, Economics).
Designs can be for new-builds, retro-fits, open spaces, public spaces, transitional-spaces, residential, commercial, mixed-use, brown-field etc. Seen at Death by Architecture. For more information, visit the competition’s official website.
The Composting Shed at Inverleith Terrace / Groves-Raines Architects
Edinburgh-based Groves-Raines Architects shared with us a recently completed project of a small composting shed in a private garden, which was awarded an American Institute of Architects Excellence in Design Award. The structure is an organic extension of the garden and the woven edging to the paths from which it springs. Its origins are derived from basket weave or hazel hurdles using woven rebar and Corten Steel.
More images after the break.
UK Pavilion for Shanghai World Expo 2010 Video
The UK Pavilion for Shanghai World Expo 2010 is one of the people’s favorite (if not the most). We featured yesterday the pavilion’s details with some amazing photos and plans. Now, we could not pass the opportunity to show you this amazing video of the pavilion made by Channelbeta. The video was published by a reader in our Facebook group!
UK Pavilion for Shanghai World Expo 2010 / Heatherwick Studio
When we featured the first renders of the UK Pavilion back on August, 2009, many readers doubt that Heatherwick Studio’s design could be done (or at least look like the renders). The Shanghai World Expo 2010 has started and the UK Pavilion has become a favorite to many of you. Now you can see the complete projects.
More images, plans and architect’s description after the break.
A New Landmark for Aldgate international competition
The Architecture Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of an open international competition to design a New Aldgate, a temporary landmark on the eastern edge of the City of London, to stand for the duration of the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games, to open in January 2012.
The competition for the design of the project is open to (but not limited to) architects, designers, artists, product designers, and/or any other disciplines. The Architecture Foundation encourages design teams to suggest inspiring and innovative yet realistic designs for this temporary and flexible structure.
The competition will be open to entries from 19 April until 12noon on 28 May 2010. More information on the competition’s official website.
Benson & Forsyth wins competition to design Islington towers
London-based Benson & Forsyth has won the competition to design two skyscrapers in north London. They defeated John McAslan & Partners, Panter Hudspith, Flacq and Studio Egret West, and will design two 21-storey towers, with 355 flats, shops and office space.
Seen at the Architect’s Website. More images after the break.
Sublime Flesh: Architectural Experiments for Sacred and Sublime Spaces
Sublime Flesh brings together, for the first time, new designs for contemporary spiritual spaces developed by students at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. A collection of research projects located in international cities including Istanbul, Rome, Turin, Lisbon, Havana and Miami, each explores a unique sense of sacredness and the Sublime.
The complex nature of these themes is articulated in a series of exquisite models that express a new ornamental, spatial and technological approach and also a reconsidered religious and cultural dimension for contemporary architecture design.
The exhibition will continue in London Christ Church till April 11. Also, there will be various events through the exhibition. Among those there will be a symposium on Tuesday April 6 14:30-18:30. Speakers are Sir Peter Cook, Marjan Colletti, Rev Rod Green, Robert Harbison, Ali Mangera, Natasha Sandmeier, Yael Reisner, and Marcos Cruz (chair).
For more information, click here.
The Carbon Footprint Fetish: Architecture and Climate Change
Whatever the uses and abuses of climate research lately, buildings are still said to cause 40 percent of carbon emissions. As such, architects see themselves at the forefront against global warming. But why do most contemporary solutions involve evermore constraints? Indeed, it is now common to hear the argument that more restrictions aid creativity. Doesn’t more freedom aid creativity?
And what about the bureaucracy of carbon bean-counters? From Bioregional, the Carbon Trust and WWF to Biffa, WRAP and BRE, who are these unelected bodies that dictate environmental standards? What is the cost of prioritising carbon measuring, rationing, trading – carbon navel-gazing – in terms of design freedom and critical-thinking?
This, the first of three mantownhuman debates asks: Should architects not maximise – rather than minimise – their footprint? This event will take place March 25th, 7pm at BDP, Brewhouse Yard, London. Find out more here.
Building Industry Think Tank: London, April 2010
On Friday, April 23, 2010, top UK, European and American industry leaders will gather at the Architectural Association in London for a day-long Think Tank to explore solutions that could change the building industry for the better.
Among the firms that will participate are: Adams Kara Tylor London / Atelier Ten / Grimshaw Architects LLP / Foster and Partners / Johnson Controls / Oldcastle Glass/ Arup / Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners / Turner Construction / Werner Sobek / NG Bailey Off-Site
The Think Tank will consist of three 90 minute sessions of a series of “pecha-kucha” style short presentations followed by roundtable discussions. The C-BIP London Think Tank is the second in a series hosted by Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation and generously underwritten by Oldcastle Glass®.
For more information on this event, click here.
Northwich Vision Cultural Centre Proposal / SVESMI Atelier
Architects: SVESMI/Atelier MS B.V., Rotterdam
Location: Northwich, England
Collaborators: Alexander Sverdlov, Gonzalo Rivaz, Francesco Vedovato, Victor Vila Grarcia, Mick van Gemert, Orcun Koken, Magnus Svensson, Maria Lisogorskaya, Durk Landman, with participation of Wessel Vreugdenhil
External advisor: Felix Madrazo (IND)
Surveyors: Leo de Jong (1st phase) Dooley Associates, Manchester (2nd phase)
Structures: ARUP, Amsterdam – London
Services: ARUP, Amsterdam – London
Sustainability: Peter Mensinga, ARUP Amsterdam
Landscape Architecture: Marc Ryan, Rotterdam – Toronto
Project Area: 7,000 sqm
Project Year: 2009
Concrete Geometries Spatial Form in Social and Aesthetic Processes
The ‘Concrete Geometries’ Research Cluster at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London is seeking submissions of work from the fields of art, architecture, sciences and humanities that explore the relationship between spatial form and social or aesthetic processes.
For more information go to the competition’s official website.
ArcSoc Talks Spring 2010
ArcSoc is the student Architecture Society of the University of Cambridge, in the United Kingdom.
They organize the Life Drawing Classes as well as the ArcSoc lectures, which invite practising architects to show off their latest work.
Their 2010 Spring Talks will host the following architects:
Marjan Colletti / January 19
Janek Schaefer / January 27
Lewis Biggs / February 2
Adrian Forty / February 9
Alex de Rijke (dRMM) – tbc Sam Jacob / February 23
All the talks will be at Lecture Room 1 at 6:45 pm. For more information, go to ArcSoc official’s website.
Whitworth Art Gallery / Amanda Levete Architects
Amanda Levete Architects shared with us their submission for the extension for the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester.
The form intends to compliment the 19th century gallery, yet still maintain its individuality as a separate element. The extension, then, becomes not “one building connected to another but as something more abstract: a gesture that merges landscape with building.” The urban gallery’s setting within Whitworth Park allows the building to merge with the landscape to “create a dynamic and inhabitable” space. “As the park becomes the folds of fabric, these folds are sliced, peeled, and pulled to house, expose, and articulate the new program of activities of that embodies the new Whitworth Gallery,” explained the architects. The park seems to be gathered together and drawn into the building, creating an extension that fosters a relationship between interior and exterior, object and landscape.
More images after the break.
