The Monditalia team has treated us to a sneak preview of what one can expect to see in the Arsenale when the Venice Biennale launches early next month. The Monditalia exhibition forms one of the three main parts of this year's Rem Koolhaas-led Biennale. To keep you up-to-date on all the latest Biennale coverage, we're holding a #CountdownVenice2014 - so be sure to follow ArchDaily on Twitter!

Catalonia is returning for the second time to the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale with the Collateral Event Arquitectures Empeltades / Grafting Architecture. Referencing the botanical process of grafting, the proposal seeks to elucidate the changes taking place in contemporary Catalan architecture by highlighting processes in which “living traditions” are being updated as new.

More on "Grafting Architecture" after the break...

In the LA neighborhood of Echo Park, Bestor Architecture is bringing a new type of community-friendly, pedestrian-friendly development to the United States. The Blackbirds project is described by Barbara Bestor as introducing "stealth density" to the Echo Park neighborhood, imitating the size and roofline of the surrounding houses but incorporating multiple homes under one roof.

The design looks to the Dutch concept of the 'Woonerf', or living street, to propose a space which favors pedestrians and cyclists over cars, and features landscape design by Mia Lehrer + Associates, creating a communal space around which a 'micro-community' can thrive.

More on the design after the break

A young, cooperative architecture practice based in Trondheim, Norway and founded in 2008 by Andreas G. Gjertsen and Yashar Hanstad, TYIN tegnestue has already built in Thailand, Myanmar, Haiti, Uganda and their native Norway. Though the partners are relatively young, the quality of their designs has earned them the important distinction of being recognized for The European Prize for Architecture (joining the ranks of GRAFT, BIG and Marco Casagrande). And their projects have been pretty popular with ArchDaily’s readers, too.

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2014 seems to be the year of Ma Yansong, as the founder of MAD Architects, who was recently named a Young Global Leader, has now been listed as one of the top 100 most creative people in business by Fast Company. Ranked at 53, the Beijing-based architect was the only architect featured on the list.

Daniel Libeskind’s “elongated Star of David” has been announced today, the architect's 67th birthday, as the winner of an international design competition for Canada’s National Holocaust Monument. Selected from a shortlist of six, the winning "Landscape of Loss, Memory and Survival" monument is expected to be constructed in the Canadian capital of Ottawa on the corner of Wellington and Booth Streets sometime next year.

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Six teams have been invited to form interdisciplinary teams in Washington D.C.’s 11th Street Bridge Park competition. Envisioned as a “21st century play space,” the project intends to unify two disconnected parts of the city with a single, multi-use parkscape that will span the width of the Anacostia River. If approved, the Bridge Park will host array of programs, from an education center and performance space, to a cafe and water sport activity areas. Review the complete list of shortlisted teams, after the break...

This year for the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale, the Dutch entry Open: A Bakema Celebration will reflect on the idea of an open society through the work and research of Jaap Bakema (1914-1981).

The Dutch architect, identified as a “compelling exponent of the Dutch welfare state,” was a leading voice within the international avant-garde movements CIAM (International Congresses of Modern Architecture) and Team 10. Inspired by the belief that “architecture should accommodate the emancipation of the masses while allowing for the self-realization of the individual citizen,” his portfolio includes some of the Netherlands’ most important postwar projects, such as the Rotterdam shopping street Lijnbaan.

Construction has begun on 3XN’s first project in India. Aesthetically inspired by local foliage, the 136-meter “Grove Towers” are designed to interweave at their base, much like the roots of the native mangrove trees. These lower, “interwoven” floors will house retail establishments, while the upper floors will be given over to residential units.

A court approved ruling has sealed the fate of Foster + Partners’ half-built Harmon Hotel in Las Vegas. Unfinished due to structural defects, the 27-story glass tower was once envisioned to be the staple of the $8.5 billion CityCenter entertainment complex. However, since problems arose in 2008, the stunted hotel and casino has instead served as a glorified billboard.

Though it has yet to be determined who will be blamed for the faulty construction, owner MGM Resorts International has been granted permission to dismantle the blue glass building floor-by-floor at a cost of $11.5 million. 

The winners of RIBA Regional Awards have been announced for the South, South East and South West regions. Among the awards were further successes for Wilkinson Eyre's Mary Rose Museum, and Adam Richards Architects' Ditchling Museum of Art and Craft, both of which were also recently featured on the UK Museum of the Year Shortlist.

The award winning projects will join winners from other regions to be considered for the 2014 RIBA Stirling Prize.

Read on after the break for all the winners from the three regions

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The American Institute of Architects’ San Francisco chapter has announced the recipients of the 2014 AIASF Design Awards. The winners were lauded for their outstanding contributions to the built environment in the following categories: architecture, interior architecture, energy and sustainability, historic preservation, unbuilt design and special achievement.

Preview all the award winners, after the break...

Dear readers, the deadline is quickly approaching for you to enter the search for the 2014 World Architecture Festival (WAF) awards. Annually recognizing the globe’s most impressive works, WAF is the largest architecture festival (and live awards) on the planet.

From August 3rd, the International Union of Architects (UIA) will once again host their World Congress, a triennial event that focuses on one critical topic in our architectural culture. Whereas the Tokyo 2011 Congress was focused on the future, this year's congress in Durban will concentrate not on a different time but a different place: the "otherwhere", or as they put it, the "anywhere-but-here". The Congress will explore ideas about how connectivity might shape our experience and alter the course of our social progress.

Read on for more about the themes of the 25th World Conference and the Keynote Speakers...

Bloomberg Philanthropies has announced 21 finalists for its annual Mayors Challenge, a competition to reward cities which propose the most creative and transferable solutions to intractable social problems such as public health, unemployment and transportation. The finalists were selected from a pool of 155 applicants from across Europe.

From the 21 finalists, a winner will be announced this fall, with the winner receiving €5 million to develop their proposal, and 4 runners-up receiving €1 million each. Founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and former Mayor of New York City commented "We need city leaders to continually reach for innovative new ways to address urban challenges – and then share what’s working with the world. That’s what the Mayors Challenge is all about."

Read on after the break for more on the challenge and the list of 21 finalists