The curatorial team for the U.S. Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale have announced the seven designers who will create the pavilion’s main exhibitions. Consisting of architects, landscape architects, artists and designers, the group will produce responses to the theme of Dimensions of Citizenship, exploring “the meaning of citizenship as a cluster of rights and responsibilities at the intersection of legal, political, economic, and societal affiliations.”

The seven exhibitors include:

On a day of big reveals for Apple – including a demonstration of the architect-friendly ARKit augmented reality technology – perhaps none was presented so glamorously as the debut of the spectacular venue in which the event was held: the brand new Steve Jobs Theater.

Apple started off their keynote address with a flythrough tour of the new space, designed by Foster + Partners (as is the main ring-shaped building), offering the first views into the below-ground spaces and the meticulous details of the ceiling, glass walls and carved handrails.

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The team of OMA and FABRICations in collaboration with LOLA landscape architects has been selected as the winners of a competition to transform a former prison complex in Amsterdam into a 135,000-square-meter mixed-use development. Located in southeastern Amsterdam, Bijlmerbajes has been seen as a distant landmark for the city since its construction in the 1970s. But with recent expansions, the once peripheral site has moved to the center of new urban development, making the property prime location for redevelopment.

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Spanish architect Rafael Moneo has been selected as the winner of the 2017 Praemium Imperiale International Arts Award for Architecture by the Japan Art Association (JAA). Known for his timeless, stately designs, the 1996 Pritzker Prize laureate was lauded by the JAA jury for his design approach which “[ensures] that his buildings blend effortlessly into the city landscape while at the same time respecting the environment and establishing a clear identity and a connection to his creative vision.”

Chinese architect Zhang Ke, the founder of the firm standardarchitecture, has been awarded the 2017 Alvar Aalto Medal. Presented by the Museum of Finnish Architecture, the Finnish Association of Architects SAFA, the Architectural Society, the Alvar Aalto Foundation and the City of Helsinki, the medal recognizes an architect who, in the words of the Museum of Finnish Architecture, is "exceptionally accomplished in the field of creative architecture and has carried on Aalto’s legacy of sustainable, humane design."

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The first phase of what will become the world’s largest bicycle parking garage has opened to the public in Utretch, The Netherlands. Currently with a capacity of 6,000 parking spaces, by late 2018 it will have enough space to house 12,500 bicycles – outpacing the current record holder Tokyo’s 9,400-capacity Kasai underground station in Tokyo. When completed, the garage and its surrounding area will contain space as many as 22,000 bikes.

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With construction well underway on the redevelopment of Stockholm’s Slussen interchange, one of the city’s busiest transportation hubs, the final building of the masterplan has been launched by the City of Stockholm and Foster + Partners.

Located at the focal point of the overall masterplan envisioned by Foster + Partners with Berg Arkitektkontor, landscape designer White Arkitekter and lighting designer ÅF, Mälarterrassen (named after Lake Mälaren, the large freshwater lake upon which much of Stockholm is located) will provide three levels of mixed-use space to re-invite locals and tourists alike to an area of the city previously dominated by automobiles.

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Sixteen years after the tragic events of 9/11, the final major element of the Flight 93 National Memorial has been revealed.

Located in rural in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, the memorial commemorates the 40 passengers who sacrificed their own lives to wrest control away from the hijackers of United Flight 93, preventing the plane from hitting its intended target of the United States Capitol Building.

In 2009, Paul Murdoch Architects, in collaboration with Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects and Arup Engineering, was selected to design the national memorial at the crash site. Employing a reverent masterplan that traced the airplane’s final movements, the architects designed a series of reflective elements as a solemn reminder of the day’s events. All of these elements have since been completed, with the exception of the plan’s most sensory landmark, the 93-foot-tall “Tower of Voices.”

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Following After Belonging, the sixth edition of the Oslo Architecture Triennale held in 2016, the Norwegian organization have today announced an open call for a Chief Curator, theme, and concept for its seventh edition, to be held in Fall of 2019. In the words of the sixth curatorial team:

The Triennale is an opportunity and space to rehearse research strategies and test working protocols which offer new forms of engagement for architects. We considered "After Belonging" and the Oslo Architecture Triennale not only as a 10-week event, but rather as a long-term collective research project that resulted in new forms of thought and action.

Architect Diébedo Francis Kéré was named Prince Claus Laureate for 2017, highlighting the cultural value and importance of beautiful, sustainable and empowering architecture.

Kéré received the award for his “design and construction of buildings of great beauty that meet people’s needs; …for honoring people’s pride in their cultural traditions and techniques, …for inventively combining relevant factors from two different knowledge systems to achieve practical solutions of global relevance and creating an exchange of ideas between Africa and Europe; …and for his ethical commitment to creating inspiring architecture that improves living conditions and uplifts communities...”

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In this episode of GSAPP Conversations, ahead of the opening of the 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial, co-curator Mark Lee (of Johnston Marklee) and Dean Amale Andraos discuss the theme of the show—"Make New History"—and it's relevance to the field today.

In recent years Ecuadorian architecture has been producing interesting concepts that are characterized by high standard design outcomes based on the conscious use of local resources. This type of practice is led by a generation that puts collective work and social values above individualities, in order to develop a "do a lot with little" style of architecture.

The Ateliers Jean Nouvel-designed Louvre Abu Dhabi is ready to make its grand first appearance, as the museum announced it will open to the public on November 11th.

Opening celebrations will take advantage of the unique structure, with a series of concerts, performances and events planned for a variety of spaces beneath the building’s 180-meter geometric dome. Comprised of nearly 8,000 arabic motif stars, the steel pattern will filter sunlight into a dramatic ‘rain of light’ on the museum’s walls and floors that calls to mind shadows created by overlapping palm trees.

Ahead of the official launch of the Steve Jobs Theater, a 1000-capacity auditorium at the heart of the new Apple Campus in Cupertino, California, new details about its design and construction have been revealed. According to Bloomberg, the entrance to the venue stands beneath “a silver disc,” whose supporting—and structural—glazed panels lend it the appearance of floating 20 feet above ground.

During an interview with Portuguese newspaper Diário de Notícias, Pritzker Prize laureate Eduardo Souto de Moura spoke to Ana Sousa Dias about his path through the Fine Arts School, his work alongside Noé Diniz and Álvaro Siza, and his consolidated international career – which he says has given him projects, but not pleasure.

"If I have to do 30 projects, there are three that give me joy and 27 that don't. I'm tired of it. It doesn't annoy me arguing when the assumption is intelligible, but when only time and money matters, it can get ugly. Respecting elections and economically have big profits," said Souto de Moura. 

The Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF) has announced the creation of the Chicago Architecture Center, a new headquarters and experience center that will invite visitors to discover “Chicago’s architectural legacy and its role in shaping cities everywhere.”

Located within the Mies van der Rohe-designed 111 East Wacker Drive along the Chicago River, the 20,000-square-foot center will provide space for a variety of exhibitions and educational initiatives, including direct access to the Chicago Architecture Foundation River Cruise. The new interiors will be designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture.

Henning Larsen Architects, in collaboration with landscape architects SLA and BuroHappold Engineering, has been selected as the winners of an international design competition to design a new iconic skyscraper for the city of Manila, Philippines. Located within the Bonifacio Global City business district, “ICONE” tower rises from a large public plaza as a dramatic spire, piercing the sky and becoming a new icon for the Manila Skyline.

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The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced the shortlist of 6 projects competing for the Stephen Lawrence Prize. Now in its 20th year, the prize is the highest honor in the UK awarded to projects with a construction budget of less than £1 million.

Previous winners of the award include House of Trace by Tsuruta Architects (2016); The Fishing Hut by Niall McLaughlin Architects (2015); House No 7 by Denizen Works (2014); Montpelier Community Nursery by AY Architects (2013); Kings Grove by Duggan Morris Architects (2012); and St Patrick's Primary School Library and Music Room by Coffey Architects (2011).

The 2017 shortlist is:

Andrés Duany (born September 7, 1949) is a founding partner of Miami firms Arquitectonica and Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company, and a co-founder of the Congress for New Urbanism. As an advocate of New Urbanism, since the 1980s Duany has been instrumental creating a renewed focus on walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods, in reaction against the sprawling, car-centric modernist urbanism of the previous decades.

CEMEX has announced the 61 finalist projects from 17 countries in the running for the 2017 International Building Awards.

The International Edition of the CEMEX Building Awards brings together the winning projects from each of the different CEMEX National Building Awards to compete head-to-head. This year, 17 countries launched a call for completed works to participate in one of five categories and four special awards.

Architecture’s most prestigious award, the Pritzker Architecture Prize, has announced the appointment of two new jurors to their distinguished jury: architect Wang Shu and Brazilian ambassador and architectural critic André Aranha Corrêa do Lago.

The 8-strong group will be tasked with selecting the upcoming 2018 laureate, who will become the 40th winner in the prize’s history.

“As we approach the 40th anniversary of the Pritzker Prize, the addition of André Corrêa do Lago and Wang Shu continues to embody the international range reflected by both present and past Laureates and Jury,” commented Tom Pritzker, Chairman of Hyatt Foundation. “The contributions of both individuals to the field of architecture, from different vantage points, makes them ideal members of the jury.”

Pritzker Prize laureate and 67th AIA Gold Medalist Fumihiko Maki (born September 6, 1928) is widely considered to be one of Japan's most distinguished architects. He had a unique style of Modernism that reflects his Japanese origin. Toshiko Mori has praised Maki's ability to create "ineffable atmospheres" using a simple palette of various types of metal, concrete, and glass. His consistent integration and adoption of new methods of construction as part of his design language contribute to his personal quest to create "unforgettable scenes."

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Currently on display outside the Zaha Hadid-designed Dongdaemum Design Plaza as part of the 2017 Seoul Biennale, the Groundscape eXPerience Pavilion is a 30-meter-long steel grid structure featuring a sequence of 28 experiments of underground architecture by 60 university students from Swiss Institute of Technology (EPFL) and EWHA Women's University (Seoul, South Korea).

Led by professor Dominique Perrault, the installation is a scale model of the 2.7 kilometer Seoul city central Euljiro underground gallery, an underutilized market space in the city center. The 28 “urban fossils” explore possibilities for the revitalization of the gallery, reimagining the structure as an urban link that is part of a larger “network of urban substance and material.”

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If you follow MAD Architects on social media, the chances are good that in recent months you've seen a number of updates regarding their Chaoyang Park Plaza project in Beijing. Located at the southern edge of the largest park in Beijing, the project comprises a complex of 5 buildings, including a pair of asymmetric towers that reach 120 meters tall. Now, with the building almost complete, photographer Khoo Guo Jie of Studio Periphery has provided us with this sneak peek of the project.

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