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ZGF Reveals Google's New L.A. Office in Historic California Hangar
ZGF architects have completed Google's new L.A. office by transforming California's landmark Spruce Goose Hangar. Designed as a building-within-a-building, the project was built inside the seven-story, 750-foot-long historic wooden structure. The 450,000 SF, four-level design is sited between two existing Google properties, and the project aimed to unify the Playa Vista campus while bringing a new perspective to workplace through adaptive reuse.
Sara Göransson on Housing and the Future of Urban Infrastructure
Swedish studio Urban Nouveau created a plan to save Stockholm's Gamla Lidingöbron bridge by transforming it into a linear park and housing. After launching a petition to save the bridge and re-purpose it, ArchDaily followed up with Sara Göransson, founding partner at Urban Nouveau, to ask her about her background and how the studio approaches social integration, housing and the future of urban infrastructure.
This Week in Architecture: Master's Plans and Masterplans
JP Morgan Chase announced this week that they had hired Foster + Partners to design their new global headquarters in New York. The project, located in midtown Manhattan, will replace the existing 1960s SOM design for the US investment bank.
This is not the first time Foster + Partners have been called in to handle a corporate headquarters project: the office is also responsible for the designs of the nearby Hearst Tower, Apple’s Campus in Silicon Valley, and the Stirling Prize-winning Bloomberg HQ in London.
Brazilian Houses: 20 Concrete Projects in Plan and Section
Concrete may be the material most associated with modern Brazilian architecture; high resistance to compression and, when armed, capable of assuming various forms. Its plasticity has made it a favorite material for some of Brazil's most expressive architects of the last century.
Today, it is still widely explored in the architectural production of Brazil, either for its structural robustness, ease of maintenance, or aesthetic value.
Frank Gehry's Grand Avenue Towers Finally Set to Begin Construction
Frank Gehry's Grand Avenue towers are finally set to begin construction, over a decade after the project was initially proposed. Conceived as a public-private partnership, the towers are sited across from Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles. The project was designed from a central retail core into the two terracing towers with a mix of retail, entertainment and residences. The $1 billion complex aims to turn Grand Avenue into a full entertainment district.
ecoLogicStudio's Bio-Digital Curtain Fights Climate Change by Filtering Air and Creating Bioplastic
London-based architectural and urban design firm ecoLogicStudio has unveiled a large-scale “urban curtain” designed to fight climate change. “Photo.Synth.Etica” was developed in collaboration with Climate-KIC, the most prominent climate innovation initiative from the European Union, to “accelerate solutions to global climate change.”
Photo.Synth.Etica, currently on display at the Printworks Building in Ireland’s Dublin Castle, captures and stores one kilogram of CO2 per day, the equivalent to that of 20 large trees.
Herzog & de Meuron's Mountain Outpost Brings "Architectural Ambition" to the Swiss Alps
Herzog & de Meuron have unveiled their proposal for a mountain outpost in the Swiss Alps. “TITLIS 3020” is situated on one of Switzerland’s most renowned tourist attractions, the 3000-meter-high Mount Titlis.
The design forms part of a master plan for the area developed by Herzog & de Meuron, which includes the construction of the outpost, the redevelopment of an old beam antenna tower, and redevelopment of an underground tunnel.
Cities Designed by Famous Architects
While most architects are remembered for a monumental structure or commission, many of the most prolific names in the field at one point or another set their sights on designing the entirety of a city. Often venturing abroad to see their aesthetic vision come to life across unfamiliar territory (and often, an unsuspecting populace), city planning posed the perfect opportunity to realize one’s architectural doctrine across unimaginable scales. Below, brush up on some of the biggest ventures into urban planning. Whether these plans failed or came to fruition, they ultimately function as crucial insights into the consequences of an outsider defining sense of place and space for a foreign audience for generations.
Broissin Arquitectos Reinterprets the Tree House in Glass
Design House, which is held annually within the framework of Design Week Mexico, is celebrating its tenth anniversary. In this year's edition, 24 local designers and architects transformed an abandoned home, each restoring a room or outdoor area. One of these interventions, by Broissin Architects, reconstructed the outdoor patio into a micro-forest with the small, glass house placed on a centenary ash tree.
How to Make Earth Plaster in 5 Easy-to-Follow Steps
The use of earth plaster is very common in natural buildings; it is the same mixture used in adobe. Though easily made, its use is not widely known. Rafael Loschiavo, from Ecoeficientes, teaches the step-by-step method for bringing a new life to a run-down wall without the need for major renovations.
Wilkinson Eyre Unveils Glass Chimney Lift for Battersea Power Station
Wilkinson Eyre has revealed new images showing a plan to create a glass elevator in Battersea Power Station. The lift will travel 109 meters to the top of one of the building's iconic chimneys. On opening, it will offer visitors views of the capital's skyline from one of the most unique viewing platforms in London. The Chimney Lift is one of three new and exciting event/attraction spaces on offer inside the iconic Power Station. The station is working closely with a wide collection of heritage and emerging retail brands from the UK and across the globe to complement its vision for the 1930s and 1950s turbine halls.
LAVA Selected to Design German Pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai
The Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (LAVA) has been selected to design the German Pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai. Designed as a vertical campus that blends nature and technology, the pavilion takes cues from local architecture and Germany’s history of outstanding lightweight pavilion design. Formally, the design features a freeform roof that encloses interlinked floating cubes that house exhibition and event spaces.
Zaha Hadid Architects Among Firms Chosen for Russian Mega-Smart City
Zaha Hadid Architects, working in collaboration with Russia-based TPO Pride Architects has been selected as one of three consortiums to realize the Rublyovo-Arkhangelskoye neighborhood in the West of the Russian capital Moscow.
The team will work with fellow winners Nikken Sekkei, UNK Project, Archea Associati, and ABD Architects to develop 4 million square meters of new buildings over 460 hectares. Over one-third of the new neighborhoods will be parklands and forest bordering the Moscow River, with a centerpiece 30-hectare lake.
Harvard GSD's Wheelwright Prize 2019 is Open for Submissions
The Harvard Graduate School of Design has initiated a call for submissions for the 2019 Wheelwright Prize, an open international competition that awards $100,000 to a “talented early-career architect to support travel-based research.”
With an open competition process, the Wheelwright Prize recognizes the importance of field research to professional development and reinforces Harvard GSD’s dedication to fostering investigative approaches to contemporary design. The winning entrant will join previous winners such as Aude-Line Duliere in 2018, Samuel Bravo in 2017, and Anna Puigjaner in 2016.
Philip Johnson: A Complicated, Reprehensible History
This interview was originally published on Common Edge as "Mark Lamster on His New Biography of Philip Johnson."
Philip Johnson lived a long and extraordinarily eventful life. He was an architect, a museum curator, a tastemaker, a kingmaker, a schemer, an exceptionally vivid cultural presence. Mark Lamster, architecture critic of the Dallas Morning News and Harvard Loeb Fellowship recipient, has now written a thoroughly engaging biography of him entitled, Philip Johnson, Architect of the Modern Century: The Man in the Glass House. I talked to Lamster two weeks ago about the book and the bundle of contradictions that was Philip Johnson.
10 Renowned Brazilian Projects by International Architects
During the second half of the twentieth century, architects all over the world, specifically from Europe, produced a legacy of renowned, modern works in Brazil. Following the principles of masters such as Le Corbusier, names like Lina Bo Bardi, Hans Broos, and Franz Heep held an undeniable influence on Brazilian architecture.
In recent years, the country has been welcoming a variety of buildings designed by foreign architects. Below, we have compiled 10 iconic works by international architects.
SHoP Architects Design New Embassy Compound in Honduras
SHoP Architects have revealed new renderings of their design for a New Embassy Compound (NEC) in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. In 2013, SHoP was among the firms selected by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Overseas Building Operations (OBO) to realize facilities that will meet its operational needs while embodying and communicating the spirit and highest values of the United States.
Safdie Architects and Perkins+Will's Albert Einstein Medical School Breaks Ground in São Paulo
The first Brazilian project by Safdie Architects has broken ground in Sao Paolo's Morumbi neighborhood on November 6. Developed in partnership with Perkins+Will, The Albert Einstein Education and Research Center is part of the Albert Einstein hospital complex.
The new center, named Campus Cecilia and Abram Szajman, will be one of the most advanced institutions in Latin America for medical studies. It will feature innovations in learning methods and technologies, as well as flexible research laboratories capable of adapting to the advancement of hospital techniques.
Frida Escobedo, Designer of the Serpentine Pavilion, Among 2019 RIBA International Fellows
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) unveiled the seven laureates of the 2019 International Fellowships, a "lifetime honor allows recipients to use the initials Int FRIBA after their name," recognizes the contributions that architects across the world outside of the UK have made in the field of architecture. Previously awarded to architects such as Jeanne Gang and Phillip Cox, the annual Fellowship emphasizes not only the impact of architects' work in their respective homelands but also their global influence.
A juror's committee, consisting of Ben Derbyshire, RIBA President; Lady Patty Hopkins, a 1994 RIBA Gold Medalist; Bob Shiel, a professor at the Bartlett School of Architecture; Wasfi Kani, a 2018 Honorary Fellow; and Pat Woodward RIBA, of Matthew Lloyd Architects, awarded the 2019 Fellows. The fellowships will be presented in London in February 2019.
Herzog & de Meuron Reveal Plan for Titlis Mountain Station in Switzerland
Herzog & de Meuron have revealed their plan for a new summit station atop the Swiss mountain Titlis. The Alpine masterplan entails the new construction of the summit station, the redevelopment and extension of an old beam antenna tower, and an upgrade of the Titlis underground tunnel. The design aims to breath new life in one of Switzerland’s most renowned international tourist attractions.
SkyRise Vertical Theme Park Set to Become Florida's Tallest Tower
Arquitectonica's SkyRise Miami vertical theme park is set to become Florida’s tallest tower. Scheduled to begin construction early next year, SkyRise Miami will stand as a 1,000-foot tower with numerous mixed-use entertainment facilities from a prime location in the heart of Miami’s downtown core. Operated by the sports and entertainment management company Legends, the tower will redefine the Miami skyline with views across Biscayne Bay.
Denise Scott Brown's Photography from the 1950s and 60s Unveiled in New York and London Galleries
An exhibition has opened at New York’s Carriage Trade Gallery celebrating the photography of Denise Scott Brown, highlighting the significance of pop art in the American vernacular. The project was initiated by Scott Brown, and first exhibited in Venice in 2016, with the latest events in London and New York initiated by PLANE-SITE.
The exhibition, titled “Photographs 1956-1966” is co-curated by Andres Ramirez, with 10 photographs selected, curated, and featured for limited sale. As well as being on display at the Carriage Trade Gallery, a concurrent exhibition is taking place in the Window Galleries at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts, London.
Foster + Partners Chosen to Design JP Morgan Chase Headquarters in New York City
Foster + Partners has been chosen to design the new HQ for JP Morgan Chase on Park Avenue, New York City. The new global headquarters, situated on 270 Park Avenue, follows on from previous corporate headquarters designed by the firm, including the 2018 Stirling Prize-winning Bloomberg HQ, and the Apple Campus 2 in California.
The new scheme will replace the existing Manhattan premises of the US investment bank and is expected to total 2.5 million square feet. The headquarters will house around 15,000 employees across 70 levels, replacing the original 52-story scheme designed by Skidmore Owings and Merrill in the 1960s.
The Politics of Vacancy: The History, and Future, of Toronto's Condo Euphoria
This article was originally published on ArchDaily on 13 February 2018.
The City of Toronto has a long, fraught relationship with development and vacancy. The map of the initial Toronto Purchase of 1787 between the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation and the British Crown, which would later establish the colonial territory that became Toronto, conceives of the landscape as a single, clearly defined vacant lot anxious for development. Or, as artist Luis Jacob better described it, “signifying nothing but an empty page waiting to be inscribed at will.” Over two-hundred years later, as housing availability, prices, and rental shortages drive vertical condominium developments in the city, the politics of the vacant lot have never felt so palpable.