OUALALOU + CHOI has designed the Morocco Pavilion at the 2020 Expo in Dubai, showcasing traditional Moroccan design and construction techniques. The pavilion brings “rammed earth construction to new heights”.

NBBJ has imagined a two million square meter “Net City” master plan in Shenzhen for Tencent, one of the largest internet companies in China and the owner of messaging app WeChat.The size of Midtown Manhattan, the new project will be among China’s first interconnected districts with office buildings, residential areas, public entertainment venues, parks, and a waterfront.

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OMA / Jason Long and Y.A. Studio have been selected to design an 150 unit affordable housing project in San Francisco's historic Haight Ashbury neighborhood. Dubbed 730 Stanyan, the project aims to provide a high-quality living environment for families and seniors. The housing will be situated at the entry to Golden Gate Park and aspires to address the city’s desperate need for permanent housing options.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has released 3D models for retail stores and office spaces to help reopen safely during the pandemic. The Design strategies use an architectural, engineering and administrative framework based upon recent public health information. They also provide cost effective options that can be implemented immediately.

ODA released images of its 1,185’ mixed-use tower in downtown Seattle. Showcasing a novelty in high-rise design, the project underlines the value and importance of outdoor space. Carving out a void in the middle of the tower, the design creates a shared outdoor amenity space with impressive views to Mt. Rainier.

The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and The Chicago Athenaeum have announced the winners of the "Europe 40 Under 40" for 2019. The annual program is initiated by The European Centre to spotlight and distinguish the next generation of architects and designers who will impact future living and working environments, cities, and rural areas.

Grimshaw has just revealed initial concepts of the new 21,000 square-foot arts complex for Santa Monica College (SMC) in Santa Monica, California. Scheduled for completion in 2024, the building is planned as a “factory of creativity”, replacing an existing surface car park and serving as a new western gateway for the college.

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The parking house, entitled Parking House + Konditaget Lüders, has just won the international design award Danish Design Award 2020 in the category of “Liveable Cities”. Designed by JAJA Architects, the intervention refurbished the roof of a parking house into living urban space with sports and play equipment.

Dutch design practice Mecanoo has unveiled a proposal for a new wing of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. Taking aim at the structure's back of house and organization, the project is made to create clear circulation and connections throughout. In addition, the project is part of a larger renovation of the existing Museum Garden as it bring together the wings of the architects Van der Steur and Bodon as part of the collection.

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Herzog & de Meuron have created a new design for a supertall skyscraper in Toronto. If built as planned, the project would rise to 1,063 feet and become the tallest residential building in Canada. Working together with project architect Quadrangle, the team was commissioned by Dutch real estate development companies Kroonenberg Geoep and ProWinko to design the new landmark for Toronto.

This article was originally published on Common Edge.

New York City: locked down, empty. It was heartbreaking, of course, but it was also beautiful. For artist Edgar Jerins, that revelation was something of a surprise. Who knew this bustling, chaotic, dirty, vibrant, profane, amazing city could look so … gorgeous when stripped of people and activity? For years, Jerins rode the subway to his studio near Times Square. When news of the spreading pandemic first surfaced—more as a vague, undefined threat, initially—he fled out of fear to the bus, and then, after the severity of the event became apparent and the lockdown began, he borrowed his daughter’s bicycle.

David Rockwell and his team at Rockwell Group proposed an open streets initiative, a template for outdoor dining, in order to help bars and restaurants reopen post-pandemic. The design strategies illustrate practical solutions to make everyone feel safe.

The London Design Biennale and Chatham House announced a new call for designers to address issues of crisis around the world. Called Design Resonance in an Age of Crisis, the initiative aims for radical design solutions to critical problems across four key areas: Health, Environment, Society, and Work. The announcement follows the news that the Biennale has been postponed until 2021.

Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) has just received planning consent for Lucan Place in Chelsea, a mixed-use project that provides new homes, nursery, and specialist educational accommodation. The project, a redevelopment of the site of the former Chelsea Police Station, will generate a total of 31 new homes, as well as social and community functions.

Stefano Boeri Architetti has unveiled its recent scheme for Tirana Riverside, in the Albanian capital. Tackling post-COVID 19 needs, the imagined neighbourhood, a first of its kind in Europe, is a technologically-advanced, green and sustainable novelty, designed in agreement with the Government and the City Authorities.

Kimberly Dowdell, 2019-2020 NOMA National President, recently issued a statement on behalf of the National Organization of Minority Architects on the nature of NOMA's advocacy and mission. Her words follow protests seeking justice for the killing of Minneapolis resident George Floyd in the United States.

Harvard Graduate School of Design (Harvard GSD) has announced Daniel Fernández Pascual as the winner of the 2020 Wheelwright Prize. Now in its eighth cycle, the Wheelwright Prize supports innovative design research, crossing both cultural and architectural boundaries, with a $100,000 grant intended to support two years of study. The 2020 Wheelwright Prize drew over 170 applicants from over 45 countries.

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In Belval Luxembourg, ICÔNE, the Foster + Partners-designed office development has broken ground. Tackling the future of workspace, the design generates flexible layouts and addresses the current tendencies for safe working environments.

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Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the world is in isolation and everyone is confined in their own house. In an attempt to analyze and understand how people are dealing with forced isolation in their current living conditions, KAAN Architecten has released an online survey that questions the space we are currently living in and how it influences our mood.

Morris + Company’s affordable rental housing development has just been given planning permission by a virtual committee. Located in Barking and Dagenham, the modern 56 high-quality affordable rental homes are designed for “residents ranging from single occupants to couples and families”.

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A post shared by Christo and Jeanne-Claude (@christojeanneclaude) on May 31, 2020 at 12:08pm PDT

Christo Vladimirov Javacheff, best known as Christo, has passed away at 84 years old of natural causes, in his house, in New York City. The Bulgarian artist, best known for wrapping The Pont Neuf in Paris and the Reichstag in Berlin, has created along the years, with his late wife Jeanne-Claude, large-scale architectural interventions in urban and rural environments.

Pre-leasing for the 31-story high rise residential tower ARQ is set to begin in West Los Angeles. Designed as part of the Cumulus District development, the project is sited between Culver City and West Adams. In creating ARQ, architecture firm Solomon Cordwell Buenz and interior design firm Rodrigo Vargas Design created units with panoramic views of Los Angeles spanning from the Pacific Ocean to Downtown.

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As one of the leading architects of Japan's increasingly highly-regarded architecture culture, 2013 Pritzker Laureate Toyo Ito (born June 1, 1941) has defined his career by combining elements of minimalism with an embrace of technology, in a way that merges both traditional and contemporary elements of Japanese culture.

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