Morphosis Architects has been selected from a shortlist of three to design the new U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) chose Morphosis over Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Mack Scogin Merrill Elam with AECOM after conducting a series of presentations and interviews in the third round of the international competition.

"Morphosis presented a strong, cohesive team with over 50 years of collaborative experience. Their presentation demonstrated the management and design approach required to successfully execute this project, as well as a thorough understanding of the importance and impact of an American Embassy in Beirut.

Çanakkale, a city of unique urban heritage, is situated on the northwestern coast of Turkey along the Aegean Sea and Dardanelles. The new antenna tower to be designed will be located at the southern outskirt of Çanakkale and will broadcast to the surrounding cities. The site for the proposed tower is on the top of a hill -and within a national forest- providing stunning views of the Dardanelles.

The competitors are strongly recommended to consider the technological requirements of the broadcasting tower and recreational potentials of a public entity with equal emphasis.

The scope of the competition is not only limited to the design of an iconic antenna tower but also includes development of innovative concepts for creating outdoor and indoor spaces enabling public programs of leisure, recreation and exhibition that will attract local people as well as tourists. The design and the position of the project should create a destination in the region that will be renown throughout Turkey.

More information after the break.

The competition isn't over yet as the jury for the Central Mosque of Pristina Competition has announced two second place prizes and no winner. Organized by the Islamic Community of Kosovo, the competition seeks to create a place "where understanding, humanity, tolerance, respect and sincere love shall be cultivated." Slovenian firm SADAR+VUGA was one of the two teams awarded second prize with their project 21PR22. Follow us after the break to learn more.

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Operation Resilient Long Island (ORLI) has just announced the winners of its 3C: Comprehensive Coastal Communities ideas competition. Entrants were asked to design solutions that were not just resilient but also contextually sensitive and pragmatic to the devastating aftermath of Super-storm Sandy as well as all future natural disasters. Over 60 submissions were received from 20 different countries and 32 finalists were engaged in a public education strategy through a public voting campaign. A jury panel of eight leading professionals in the fields of architecture, urban planning and disaster mitigation met in mid-September to review the top finalists and selected 3 winners.

The 2013 winners of the 3C Competition are:

Australian practice Lockhart Krause Architect has entered its proposal "Community and Earth" into an international design competition for a contemporary art gallery and museum of historical artifacts in the world heritage city of Yaroslavl, Russia. Their scheme aims to "provide a vibrant place for the community" and "explores the idea of earth and history by cutting into the ground."

Berlin-based Henn has been chosen as the winner of the architectural competition to design the 280-meter Cenke Tower in Taiyuan. Located on a north-south axis, the mixed-use tower will include office, hotel, and retail space.

The winner of a competition to design a new extension for Chile's National History Museum has been announced. The competition, hosted by The Chilean Architecture Department of the Ministry of Public Works and the Department of Libraries, Archives and Museums, called for an 8,612 square feet annex devoted to exhibition and storage space. From the 54 proposals received, Aguiló + Pedraza Architects' stood out.

The Architect's description of the proposal, after the break.

In an effort to “feed the world,” penda, in collaboration with Alex Daxboeck, has won first runner-up in the two-stage competition for the Austrian Pavilion at the 2015 Milan Expo. Supporting the Expo’s theme, penda’s proposal plans to be designed and harvested by its visitors, who will plant herbs, vegetables and fruits all over it throughout the duration of the seven-month event. By the end of the Expo, the pavilion will be fully taken over by organic food, which will then be prepared by chefs and served back to the visitors in the Pavilion-Restaurant.

Storefront for Art and Architecture announces a call for proposals for WorldWide Storefront (“WWSF”), a new initiative to provide a simultaneous, multi-locus of alternative spaces around the globe and a digital platform for the expression and exchange of latent desires within contemporary art and architecture practices.

WorldWide Storefront is a mode of action; its aim is to unveil, produce and discuss experimental cultural works on a global scale from local points of view. By using the ability of contemporary means of communication to join space, undo place and avoid time, Worldwide Storefront provides leadership in imagining future modes of cultural production.

Selected entries will be part of the full WorldWide Storefront program and will receive $1,000 in seed funding to start their project, as well as strategic outreach support and technical and logistical mentorship. From September 19 to November 21, 2014, all selected entries throughout the world will simultaneously open and have a two-month program of exhibitions and events.

All events will be recorded and broadcast through a Worldwide Storefront online platform and presented at the Storefront for Art and Architecture Gallery in New York, which will operate as the central situation room.

More on the application, selection and additional information after the break.

SeARCH has won an invited, international competition for the urban renewal of Marievik. Their winning proposal, STA(CK)HOLM plans to transform an area along one of central Stockholm’s main access roads, opposite the island of Södermalm and facing a new bridge by Norman Foster, into a futuristic sustainable neighborhood.

"People tend to forget that play is serious." - David Hockney

PLAYscapes, an international design competition launched earlier this year asking people to "submit a plan or proposal to turn a neglected forgotten part of your city into a playscape," has announced their winning entries. Set up by Building Trust International, the competition called for "professional and student architects and designers from cities around the world to propose ideas which encouraged public interaction and turned redundant city spaces into fun creative places."

Find out more about the winning professional entry from the City of Cape Town, entitled Cape Town Gardens Skatepark, along with the winning student entry from the Lusiada University of Lisbon, entitled Bring a Pal and Have Fun, after the break...

MenoMenoPiu Architects & Paolo Venturella just released their entry for the Alvar Aalto University Otaniemi Campus Competition in Helsinki. Their proposal focuses on the creation of an energy-efficient learning environment that rethinks the traditional courtyard typology. It uses different levels and heights to create a variety of public and private spaces open to both students and inhabitants of the city, all while framing the main Alvar Aalto building.

The architects' description after the break. 

d3 has announced the winners of its Natural Systems Competition for 2013, an annual award that offers architects, designers, engineers and students the chance to investigate natural processes from the microscopic to macroscopic scale, and propose innovative and nature-based solutions in architecture, urbanism, interiors and product design for sustainable living.

The jury, a panel of architects and designers engaged in sustainable practices and computational explorations, has this year selected a top three as well as fourteen special mentions. Join us after the break for images from all 17 designs.

After two successful cycles, Zagreb Society of Architects organized the 3rd edition of the international series of concept based architectural competitions entitled 'Think Space'. So far, the program hosted a number of established architects and curators and it continues to re-think space in the 2013|2014 season.

The new theme Think Space | MONEY [The Echo of Nothing] was devised by Ethel Baraona Pohl and César Reyes Nájera of dpr-barcelona; architects, writers, editors, publishers, bloggers and guest curators of the third cycle.

Throughout the new season of competitions and papers, Think Space will be looking for pioneering works at the intersection of architecture, sociology, economics, programming and marketing that radically challenge the fundamental spatial, social and urban relation based on capitalism. The competitions and Call for Papers will focus on territories, environment, culture and society through MONEY lenses, as observed by architects and other visual artists and professionals.

More information on the first of competitions, Territories, after the break.

ACME has won an international competition for the design of the new headquarters of the Sächsische AufbauBank in Leipzig, Germany. Chosen from submissions by 20 architectural practices (including Zaha Hadid and Sauerbruch Hutton), ACME's design was referred to by the jury as "an innovative and [...] a visionary solution, which is manifested in a striking, distinctive appearance. Especially noteworthy is the symbiotic unity of building and open space design."

BIG, OMA and SANAA are amongst 12 architectural heavyweights competing to design the Nobel Foundation’s new home in Blasieholmen, Stockholm. Currently in the competition’s first stage, the architects have submitted anonymous entries for jury review.

Once complete, the building hopes to become one of Stockholm’s main attractions. It will not only serve as the Nobel Foundation's primary home, but also provide facilities for research and education, as well as public exhibition spaces, a conference center, library, cafe, shop and more.

Read on for the complete list of participating architects and a sneak peak of the proposed schemes.

Looking for something to do this week? If you are in the greater Los Angeles area, come check out the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) sixth Solar Decathlon at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine. Currently on view through October 13, this (free!) event showcases nineteen student-built, solar-powered homes that claim to be exemplars of sustainable housing. After being closely monitored by the DOE throughout the length of the competition, one team will be crowned as winner for successfully blending affordability, consumer appeal, and design excellence with optimal energy production and maximum efficiency.

Catch a glimpse of each project, ranked in order of the current standings, after the break. 

Videos

London-based Twelve Architects & Masterplanners have won a competition to deliver a radical new airport for Rostov, Russia, just in time for the 2018 World Cup.

The Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD), the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSARG) announces the launch of the international competition for "Design Ideas Competition for Preservation Corridor for Lung Tsun Stone Bridge Remnants". The Competition is open to participants in both the Professional Group and Open Group with age 18 or above. The Professional Group is open to the professionals in the fields of architecture, engineering, landscape architecture, planning, urban design or surveying. The Open Group is open to the general public.

Now in its tenth year, the Emirates Glass LEAF Awards honor the architects designing the buildings and solutions that are setting the benchmark for the international architectural community. Founded in 2001, the competition is organized by the Leading European Architects Forum (LEAF) and recognizes innovative architectural design. 17 different awards were given to various projects and architects, with one overall winner. Check out the winners after the break…

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