Ball-Nogues Studio “Yevrus 1, Negative Impression” Exhibition
The Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) is pleased to present “Yevrus 1, Negative Impression,” an installation designed for the SCI-Arc Gallery by alumni Benjamin Ball (B.Arch ‘03) and Gaston Nogues (B.Arch ‘94) of Los Angeles-based Ball-Nogues Studio, opening June 1 and running until July 8 at SCI-Arc.
Constructed from non-architectural artifacts, Yevrus 1, Negative Impression is a disposable architecture of literal references that calls into question the contemporary architectural vogue for digital complexity and abstraction. The cast impressions of 1973 Volkswagen Beetles and speedboats unite to form a strong structural whole that serves as a lookout tower in the SCI-Arc Gallery. More information after the break.
Robot Workshop Competition Winners
suckerPUNCH recently announced the winners of their Robot Workshop competition. The past few years have seen an exciting rise in the fascination with robotics. Simultaneously, the ability to develop and build robots capable of complex and experimental applications has become easier and more accessible to the general public. From hardware like Arduino to open source programming like Processing, there now exist inexpensive and even free ways to dabble with robotics. With the site located in an open lot in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, the Robot Workshop will be a place people can come to work on their projects, utilizing shop facilities while simultaneously interacting with fellow robot enthusiasts. More images and descriptions on the winning proposals after the break.
‘Who Builds Your Architecture?’ Event
With architects building globally – often disconnected from their own cultural and political contexts – what is their responsibility toward the workers who construct their buildings? Organized by the Vera List Center in collaboration with Kadambari Baxi (Barnard College), Mabel O. Wilson (Columbia University GSAPP) and curator and writer Beth Stryker, Who Builds Your Architecture?, which takes place May 3 from 6:30pm-8:30pm, examines the links between construction practices and workers’ rights; and provokes broader questions about contemporary forms of globalization where architecture takes central stage. Sociologist Andrew Ross, architects Peggy Deamer and Fred Levrat, and Human Rights Watch Senior Researcher on the Middle East Bill Van Esveld reflect on how architects imagine their role, particularly on how their buildings may transform society—not just through their physical forms, but through the ways in which they are constructed and used. For more information on the event, please visit here.
nycobaNOMA ‘Crafting the Interview 3.0′ Event (event postponed)
The New York Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (nycobaNOMA) will be hosting the ‘Crafting the Interview 3.0′ event which will take place at FXFOWLE on May 19 from 11am – 5pm. In order to provide the necessary tools to craft a successful interview, they have planned a Portfolio + Resume Review Day for graduating college students and young professionals seeking feedback on their portfolio. A panel presentation will provide information about the job hunting process and current market trends. The event will offer constructive one-on-one feedback to participants and a panel discussion comprised of professionals representing different sectors of the architectural + design community. To register for the event and for more detailed information, please visit here.
Due to unforeseen circumstances the organization had to postpone this event.
2012 Washington UNBUILT Awards Winners
The Washington Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA|DC) recently announced the 2012 winners of the 4th Annual Washington UNBUILT Awards competition.
This year’s judging yielded eight winning submissions from local design professionals and students with the grand prize awarded to Christine Chlebda, a student at The Catholic University of America (CUA). More information on the awards after the break.
Innovation, Science & Technology Building at Florida Polytechnic / Santiago Calatrava
Designed by renowned architect, Santiago Calatrava, the new Innovation, Science & Technology building at Florida Polytechnic University will establish the design scheme for all other structures within the campus’ master plan, which Calatrava is also responsible. Until the other structures within the master plan are built, the new Innovation, Science & Technology building, which just broke ground in March will also need to function as the campus itself; being able to accommodate various events and functions. More images and architects’ description after the break.
‘BubbleDeck’ Technology at Harvey Mudd College / MATT Construction
MATT Construction is utilizing an innovative new slab technology called BubbleDeck, which replaces a significant percentage of a slab’s concrete mass with hollow or foam-filled plastic balls, made from recycled plastic material. The Teaching and Learning Building at Harvey Mudd College (HMC), designed by Boora Architects with structural engineering provided by kpff, will be the first above-ground building in the United States to employ the technology. HMC has enthusiastically embraced this project on their campus. More images and project description after the break.
10th Annual 2×8 Student Exhibition
The American Institute of Architects, Los Angeles Chapter recently announced their 10th Annual 2×8 Student Exhibition which features a display of 16 of the major architectural school programs in California. Although based in LA, they have extended their invitations to the region and are opening the door to more schools. Taking place at the A+D Museum, each of the participating academic programs selects two projects that exemplify its core vision. The students’ design work will be judged by a noteworthy panel of architects and designers. The panel will then announce the winners at the exhibition opening and convene in a forum to discuss the award-winning projects. The exhibition will be on view from June 5 till June 30. For more information, please visit here. More images of past exhibitions can be viewed after the break.
Streamsong Resort and Conference Center / Alfonso Architects
Located in Polk County, Florida, on a 16,000 acre property between Orlando and Tampa, the Streamsong Resort and Conference Center, designed by Alfonso Architects, is a celebration of reclamation, of both land and spirit. The site is formerly mined phosphate land owned and developed by The Mosaic Company, the world’s leading producer and marketer of phosphate-based crop nutrients. The 300,000 sq. ft resort includes 216 rooms in the main lodge, 12 rooms in the golf clubhouse, a full service spa , three restaurants, and 18,500 sq. ft of conference center space. More images and architects’ description after the break.
2012 Architectural League Prize Winners Announced
The Architectural League just announced the winners of No Precedent, the thirty-first annual Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers (formerly known as the Young Architects Forum). The League Prize is one of North America’s most prestigious awards for young architects. The program exemplifies the League’s longstanding commitment to identifying and nurturing the development of talented young architects and designers. This year’s winners are: Jorge Arvizu, Ignacio del Rio, Emmanuel Ramirez, and Diego Ricalde, MMX Studio, Mexico City; Jimenez Lai, Bureau Spectacular, Chicago; Sean Lally, WEATHERS / Sean Lally, Chicago; Seung Teak Lee and Mi Jung Lim, STPMJ, Brooklyn; Michael Szivos, SOFTlab, New York; and Koji Tsutsui, Koji Tsutsui & Associates, San Francisco and Tokyo. More information on the awards, including exhibition and lectures, after the break.
19th Annual Canstruction® Raises Hunger Awareness with Food Drive Exhibit
At this year’s 19th annual Canstruction: Exhibition, a Food Drive and Design Contest at the World Financial Center in New York City, 26 design and architecture firms have built gigantic, gravity-defying sculptures from thousands of cans of food. Over 100,000 cans were turned into works of art to help City Harvest feed hungry New Yorkers. The exhibition, free to the public, is up now until November 21, and encourages visitors to donate high-quality non-perishable foods, such as tuna, beans, and canned vegetables. More information on the exhibition can be found here. More images after the break.
MeasuringUP Symposium
Presented by the Department of Architecture at Portland State University, the MeasuringUP symposium is dedicated to advancing regional knowledge and efforts for environmentally responsive architecture. Taking place May 10-11 on the Portland State University campus, the event sets out to discuss the following questions: Are green buildings in use measuring up to their targets? What role do building occupants play in the discussion of performance? How can research in buildings inform and improve design practice? And how can successful strategies be replicated at a larger scale? More information on the event after the break.
Unveiling Exhibition of VCU Institute for Contemporary Art / Steven Holl Architects
Steven Holl Architects invites you to join them in the unveiling exhibition of their Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University. The event will take place at the Meulensteen gallery in New York on April 26 from 6-8pm. The 32,000 square-foot building will provide gallery spaces for traveling and school exhibits, classrooms, offices, art storage spaces and an auditorium, and accommodate a sculpture garden and a café. Joseph H. Seipel, Dean of the VCU School of the Arts, exclaimed, ”We are honored to have Steven Holl, internationally recognized as one the most inspired and significant architects of our time.”
modeLab Parametric Design Workshop
In response to the overwhelming interest in the April Parametric Design Workshop, this workshop, another intensive parametric design workshop, will be held in Brooklyn during the weekend of April 28-29, 2012 by Studio Mode / modeLab. It will consist of a series of instructional lectures, open work sessions, and guided exercises, beginning with an introduction to Algorithmic Processes and Computational Geometry.
In a fast-paced and hands-on learning environment, this workshop will engage both the conceptual as well as technical domains of applied parametric design. Rhino, in conjunction with the parametric modeling plug-in Grasshopper, offers the possibility to explore parametric and computational design with unprecedented fluidity. Leveraging this capacity, we have structured this workshop around a series of design strategies and case-study exercises with the capacity to generate and control degrees of variation within fields of entities. Emphasis will be placed on workflows that utilize constraint-based design, visualization techniques, and environmental influencers to discover novel and inventive design solutions. For more information, please visit here.
LACMA Distinguished Architects Lecture Series: Jeanne Gang
Founder and principal of Studio Gang Architects, Jeanne Gang, FAIA, LEED AP, will be delivering a lecture at LACMA on May 8th at 7:30pm. Reveal, the first volume on Studio Gang’s projects and processes, was released in 2011 from Princeton Architectural Press. Recent projects include a proposal reimagining the suburb of Cicero, Illinois, as a part of MoMA’sexhibition Foreclosed: Rehousing the American Dream; Reverse Effect, a book intended to explore and spark a radically greener future for the Chicago River and Great Lakes; Aqua Tower, an Emporis Skyscraper of the Year; and Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo, an educational project demonstrating how nature and city can coexist. The event is presented by LACMA and organized by Francesca Garcia-Marques, with an introduction by Christopher Hawthorne, Los Angeles Times architecture critic. For more details and information on the event, please visit here.
‘Latest Works’ Lecture by Manuel Aires Mateus at MIT
Manuel Aires Mateus of Aires Mateus e Associados will be giving a lecture at MIT featuring ‘Latest Works’. The projects of Aires Mateus e Associados are characterised by materiality, mass and an essential muteness or quietness. The Paulo Gomes Archeological Center, Casa Areia and Furnas Monitoring and Investigation Centre are perhaps the most elemental and representative of their projects, seeming to draw power from the connection or contrast with nature.
Situated at the archaeological site of Crasto Lofts, the Paulo Gomes Archeological Center features an exhibition area defined as the liminal space between a concrete and glass skin and the exposed cliff side. (Australian Institute of Architects).The event, which is free and open to the public, takes place Thursday, May 3rd at 6:30pm at MIT Building 10, room 250. For more information, please visit here.
Resonant Chamber / rvtr
Resonant Chamber, an interior envelope system that deploys the principles of rigid origami, transforms the acoustic environment through dynamic spatial, material and electro-acoustic technologies. The aim of rvtr is to develop a soundsphere able to adjust its properties in response to changing sonic conditions, altering the sound of a space during performance and creating an instrument at the scale of architecture, flexible enough that it might be capable of being played. The project is funded through the 2011 Research through Making Grant, U-M Office of the Vice President for Research, 2011 Small Projects Grant, U-M Center for Wireless Integrated Microsystems, Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada Research Creation Grant. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Information Technology and Media Center / Morris Architects
The project by Morris Architects for a new information technology and media center for Santa Monica Community College in California includes 12,000 square feet of new space and approximately 6,000 square feet of renovation to the existing campus library. The college currently has an enrollment of 30,000 students and is experiencing rapid growth that requires a major upgrade to its current information technology department and computing infrastructure. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Fractured House / Studio H:T
Located in Boulder, Colorado and designed by Studio H:T, Fractured House creates a spatial experience from the fracture implied by splayed property lines. The resulting volumetric fissure of the building mass organizes the horizontal circulation and creates the space of the stair cavern. More images and architects’ description after the break.
What Makes it GREEN? – Live Jury Interviews, Winners Announcement, and Reception
Designers in the Northwest and Pacific Region create some of the world’s most sustainable buildings. What Makes it GREEN? (WMIG?) celebrates the region’s achievements and the interdisciplinary teamwork required to meet the 2030 Challenge®. For over a decade, WMIG? has educated and inspired the larger design community with creative solutions for sustainability.
Jurors from the 2012 What Makes It GREEN? Awards will be interviewing the shortlisted project teams from around the region live at Seattle City Hall April 18 starting at 9am with the winners being announced that evening. For those interested in sustainable design, green buildings, and energy-efficiency, this is an opportunity to learn behind-the-scenes what goes into designing the kinds of buildings that will help us reach carbon neutrality by 2030. For more information, please visit here.
‘Manta’ Installation for SmartGeometry 2012 Conference / Guillermo Bernal, Eric Ameres, Zackery Belanger, Seth Edwards
Drawing from creative minds of Guillermo Bernal, Eric Ameres, Zackery Belanger, and Seth Edwards, and with the support of Smartgeometry, Grimshaw Architects, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute‘s Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center, Manta represents the potential of multidisciplinary design. that required expertise in architecture, fabrication, interactive technology, and acoustics. This combination drove the assembly of the design team, who came together for the first time from disparate careers and backgrounds. The result could only be achieved with a holistic design approach: all team members worked together on all aspects of Manta. More images and the team’s description after the break.
