For this year's edition of the Venice Biennale, the Japan Pavilion invites visitors to reflect on the movement of goods fuelling mass consumption and rethink sustainability and reuse in architecture. Titled Co-ownership of Action: Trajectories of Elements, the project curated by Kadowaki Kozo involves dismantling an old wooden Japanese house and transporting it to Venice to be reconstructed in a new configuration with the addition of modern materials. The exhibition exemplifies how old materials could be given an entirely new existence by putting the current movement of goods in the service of reuse rather than consumption.
Art Gensler, the founder of one of the largest architecture businesses in the world, Gensler, has passed away at 85, as reported by the company’s Instagram Account. The architect and businessman founded Gensler back in 1965, in San Francisco, and in his 65 years of career, he managed to turn his practice into one of the leading worldwide firms with 50 locations across Asia, Europe, Australia, the Middle East, and the Americas.
Titled "Yuan-er, a Courtyard-ology: From the Mega to the Micro", the Chinese pavilion at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia answers the question of how architecture can contribute to equality, connectivity and unity by resorting to familiar Chinese residential typologies. Curated by Zhang Li, the pavilion will be on display from May 22nd to November 21st, 2021.
If only a few years ago 3D printing was viewed with a certain suspicion, recent news has shown that it is in fact a viable technology that is here to stay. On April 30, 2021, tenants of the first 3D printed concrete house in the Netherlands received their keys. The house in Eindhoven—the first of five within the 'Milestone Project'—fully complies with all the country's stringent construction requirements.
Led by Ma Yansong, MAD Architects have released their design for the Jiaxing Civic Center, a project that explores the relationship between city, nature, and people. The proposed center will be a new place of attraction for children, adults, and seniors, sitting on the city's central axis and surrounded by its South Lake, Haiyan River, and Central Park. The master plan will house three venues: the Science and Technology Museum, the Women and Children Activity Center, and the Youth Activity Center, all organized around a central green open space. The firm's latest public project in Jiaxing City, which is expected to be complete by the end of 2023, comes shortly after they unveiled their design for the Jiaxing Train Station earlier this year.
Philadelphia Museum of Art opened to the public earlier this month after completing an extensive four-year renovation and interior expansion project led by Frank Gehry. The intervention, dubbed the Core Project, focused on renewing the museum's infrastructure, creating galleries and public spaces while leaving the 1928 exterior untouched. The culmination of two decades of planning and design, the project led by the renowned architect creates a compelling vision for the future of the museum while honouring the landmark building.
Modern architecture, in its early days, was based on innovative technologies of construction and a rejection of ornament, which established the use of straight lines in building design. However, thanks to the plasticity of concrete and other materials, new patterns began to emerge, resulting in more organic and curvy lines.
https://www.archdaily.com/960506/beyond-straight-lines-curves-in-brazilian-housesEquipe ArchDaily Brasil
The Italian Pavilion for the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale explores the capabilities for transformation and adaptation of Italian communities in an attempt to define tangible solutions to current global challenges. Titled "Resilient Communities", the exhibition curated by Alessandro Melis presents Italian research and innovation across many fields, exploring ideas for improving the conditions of the built environment and addressing climate change, with the hope of defining the building blocks for a sustainable future.
Courtesy of Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Studio Barnes
Germane Barnes has won the 2021 Wheelwright Prize from Harvard University Graduate School of Design. The $100,000 prize will fund two years of travel and research for Barnes’s proposal Anatomical Transformations in Classical Architecture, an examination of classical Roman and Italian architecture through the lens of non-white constructors. Barnes will study how spaces have been transformed through the material contributions of the African Diaspora while creating new possibilities within investigations of Blackness.
Wael Al Awar and Kenichi Teramoto, both principals of Dubai-based Waiwai design, have been appointed as the curators for the National Pavilion of the UAE at the 2021 Venice Biennale. Entitled Wetland, the exhibition presents an experimental solution to the critical environmental impact of the construction industry. The intervention will present a large-scale prototype structure created from an innovative, environmentally friendly cement made of recycled industrial waste brine. The exhibitionwill open to the public at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale from Saturday, May 22nd to Sunday, November 21st, 2021.
The Hungarian Pavilion at the 17th Venice Biennale explores the often challenging socialist architecture and looks at how this heritage could be reconsidered and given a new future. Titled Othernity – Reconditioning our Modern Heritage, the exhibition curated by Dániel Kovács presents twelve iconic modern buildings of Budapest and the visions of twelve architecture practices from Central and Eastern Europe for their reconditioning. The Hungarian Pavilion's project looks into how architecture can build on its past to foster resilience, sustainability and strong cultural identities.
Chicago’s most prolific architect, Helmut Jahn has passed away on Saturday afternoon in a cycling accident. He was struck by two vehicles while riding his bicycle in Campton Hills, in the Chicago suburbs. The German-American designer is best known for his postmodern Thompson Center, currently under threat of demolition and United Airlines Terminal 1 at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
One of the most iconic examples of Metabolist architecture, Kisho Kurokawa'sNakagin Capsule Tower, might be headed for demolition, as the building was sold by the management association to the landowner earlier this year, as reported by Japan Forward. The tower's demise has been intensely speculated in recent years due to the structure's precarious state and incompatibility with current seismic standards.
Titled "Architecture as Measure", the Turkish pavilion at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, seeks to explore what and how architecture can contribute to the environment in the light of the current climate crisis, beyond technological dependence. Curated by Neyran Turan, the pavilion will be on display at the country's long-term venue, the Sale d’Armi, Arsenale from May 22nd to November 21st, 2021.
The VinFast Global Showroom Design Competition organized by Vietnam Design Association (VDAS) and VinFast from January 25th to February 25th, received approximately 1000 entries from 90 countries across 5 continents. Accordingly, VFDC 2021 greatly attracted designer contestants from the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, and Vietnam, which are key markets in VinFast's global strategy.
https://www.archdaily.com/961247/winner-announcement-of-vinfast-global-showroom-design-competition-2021ArchDaily Team
MSG Architects and Turf Design Studio have designed a 20-year masterplan for the University of Canberra in Australia. With an investment of over $5 billion of the university's Bruce campus, the project would include new light rail connections for the Belconnen community, as well as an indoor arena and sports center. In total, the project would include over 60,000 square meters of university facilities and over 200,000 square meters of commercial buildings.
The SO – IL-designed 21,000 square foot multi-building “art campus” in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is set to open on June 5th, 2021, with construction projected to conclude by May 2021. Serving as the Amant Foundation’s new headquarters, the complex will host exhibitions, public events, archival projects, performances, and residency programs.
Daniel Libeskind and inLodz21 Institution are designing Nexus21, an urban revitalization project of 21 structures that vary between residential and commercial buildings to urban spaces. The new cultural hub is located in particular neighborhoods to promote the creativity and innovation that lies in the city, such as architecture, textiles, fashion, and film, which are all part of its heritage. The master plan will also work on the spaces in between the revived structures, creating a vibrant nexus between the old and the new, while adding value to the historic neighborhoods of Łódź, Poland.
The Russian Federation Pavilion for the 2021 Venice Biennale explores the role of cultural institutions across physical and digital spaces. Titled Open, the program investigates the subject on multiple fronts, from the renovation of its physical architecture to the research into the social role of virtual environments and a collection of perspectives on the new ways of thinking in the institutional realm. The contribution builds on the Open? project, which debuted in May 2020 and continued throughout the year as a virtual platform for creatives and thinkers.
For its latest design in China, the Australian firm Koichi Takada Architects takes inspiration from Shanghai's forest-rich landscape and creates a series of architectural "trees" that branch out, forming a canopy above a new marketplace. Through its open, biophilic design, the Solar Trees Marketplace will be an extension of the outdoor public space, reinterpreting the traditional Chinese market as a community place.
The Archdiocese of Brisbane has unveiled plans to build an eight-story office block adjacent to the city's historic St. Patrick’s Church in Australia. Designed by architecture practice BVN, the project was made to respond to both the existing church and the urban fabric of Fortitude Valley. The proposed development would preserve views to the church from James and McLachlan streets with over 11,000 square meters of office space.
