Designed by Henning Larsen Architects and Batteriid Architects, the Harpa Concert Hall was one of the finalists for Building of the Year. On the border between land and sea, the Center stands out as a large, radiant sculpture reflecting both sky and harbor space as well as the vibrant life of the city. This is all very elegantly represented in Pedro Kok‘s video which gives us more insight to the building from multiple viewpoints.

DO|SU Studio Architecture shared with us their architectural research installation, titled ‘Bloom,’ displayed at the Materials and Application Gallery in Los Angeles. The project acts as a sun tracking instrument indexing time and temperature, with a shape alluding to a woman’s Victorian-era under garment, ‘Bloom’ to stitch together material experimentation, structural innovation, and computational form and pattern making into an environmentally responsive form. The project is especially designed for peak performance on spring equinox, March 20, 2012. More images and architects’ description after the break.

We have featured Enota several times before and we are pleased to make you aware of a nice monograph they recently published. Founded in 1998, Enota has strung together an impressive amount of innovative built and unbuilt work. They constantly strive for their buildings to be grounded in the environment that surrounds them. “Enota’s team of architects focuses on research driven design of the environment where study of contemporary social organizations and use of new technologies are interwoven to produce innovative and effective solutions. Their solutions are strongly influenced by research, reinterpretation and development of social, organizational and design algorithms that derive from nature.”

Check out some of our features here, and take a look inside the book after the break.

If you find yourself in Chicago for the weekend of April 12-16, be sure to check out the Architecture and Design Film Festival at the Music Box Theatre. A total of 31 Films running anywhere from a quick 3 minutes to 93 minutes will feature popular pieces such as EAMES: The Architect and the Painter and The Pruitt-Igoe Myth. The event will also include discussions with some of the filmmakers, architects, designers and other industry leaders about the design process, architecture in film and the innovative designs we see and use everyday. This highly anticipated film festival celebrates the creative spirit of architecture and design, so be sure not to miss it!

Explore the stunningly beautiful and vibrant city of Berlin through the eyes of resident and film producer, Pilpop. He believes that it is the inhabitants in which make Berlin such a unique city. To observe and attempt to understand the way in which people use the city is quite possibly the ultimate form of education, as there is something new to discover each time you turn a corner.

Video: Pilpop Music: “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2” by Franz Liszt

The design for the Wind Tower by Fran Silvestre Arquitectos aims to create a landmark which modifies its proportions depending on the viewpoint and the effect of the sunlight; revealing an element in a constant evolution. An engraved tower devoted to the wind, The building combines renewable energy which feeds the city and its facilities with electricity, without needing other resources. More images and architects’ description after the break.

On behalf of the Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture (MoIC), representing the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and supported by the Government of the U.S. and the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, S.E.E. | office for architecture and design is pleased to announce and promote the International Architectural Ideas Competition (IAIC_NMA) for the new National Museum of Afghanistan.

The competition is a one stage ideas competition to generate design proposals, which are due no later than June 6th, for an architectural master plan and detailed building design for the site of the National Museum of Afghanistan. More information on the competition after the break.

The hotel-spa building proposal for the ‘Stavia 2012′ competition aims to be fully integrated with the landscape, for it is covered by a green slope that hides the stack of the building. Designed by Menomenopiu Architects, the building is no longer an urban border between the city and the lake but it rather becomes nature’s means to claim and regain the bank by providing the user with a promenade equipped with different services. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Architect: Claudio Sat, Unipessoal, lda Location: Amoreiras, Óbidos, Portugal Project Team: Pedro Cancela, Gisela Ferreira, Ricardo Porfírio Final design: Ana Duarte Pinto – João Manuel Alves, arquitectos lda Project Team: Diana Parracho, Mariana Pimentel, Nuno Amaro, Manuel Vacas Project Year: 2008 Photographs: FG+SG – Fernando Guerra, Sergio Guerra

+ 18

i2a istituto internazionale di architettura will be organizing a round table on airports and their complexity on Friday, March 16th at 8:00pm in Vico Morcote. Representatives of the fields of airport management and design will be joined by two artists to exchange stories, uses, criticality and design of several airports in and around Ticino. They will be offering a more poetic vision of infrastructure as a reflection on spatial types. This discussion will coincide with the opening of the exhibition The life of airports. Two case studies: Lugano and Santa Maria Island (Azores). More information on the event after the break.

If you want a brief simple city guide of contemporary architecture in New York City you can have a look at our city guide, but if you want a thorough guide book then you should check out John Hill’s Guide to Contemporary New York City Architecture. The book is organized into neighborhoods so you can create your own self-guided walking tours. It covers everything from parks and residences to office buildings and museums. There is also a section that depicts a few projects that might come to fruition by 2020.

Toshiko Mori, FAIA, founder and principal of Toshiko Mori Architect, discusses her work, including the Darwin D. Martin House Visitors Center. The lecture begins with a 15 minute documentary “A Girl is a Fellow Here: 100 Women Architects in the Studio of Frank Lloyd Wright”, produced by the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation.

The Times Square Alliance has announced the arrival of two new public art installations, Manhattan Oil Project by German-born Josephine Meckseper and Soñando New York (Dreaming New York) by Uruguayan sculptor Pablo Atchugarry. Continue after the break to learn more about these installations.

+ 2

The aim of the proposal for the University of Latvia Academic Center of Natural Sciences by Sestais Stils Architects is to create a comfortable, functional and sustainable environment for studies and work. They wanted a space for students and other interested persons to research and acquire contemporary knowledge and technologies. They also wanted to create a unit of urban structure where all functions necessary for optimal study and research process are provided at one place but at the same time the structure interacts with ‘outside world’ as well. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Commissioned by the San Francisco Arts Commission for a permanent installation at the Randal Museum, Windswept, designed by Charles Sowers Studios, is a wind-driven kinetic facade that transforms a blank wall into an observational instrument that reveals the complex interactions between wind and environment. The design consists of 612 freely-rotating directional arrows, which serve as discrete data points indicating the direction of local flow within the larger phenomenon. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Chris Mullaney shared with us a project he designed for his parent’s house in Stroud on a relatively small budget. Through working with form and construction and a chance to put academic work into practice, the Origami Coop sees the ubiquitous chicken coop as an opportunity for experiment. More images and Mullaney’s description after the break.

Suyabatmaz Demirel Architects shared with us their design for the Goksu Rope Factory Lofts in Istanbul. The new owner of this derelict factory wanted to turn his investment into a high-end residential project consisting of various sized lofts. After visiting the site, our major concern became clear. Since the 17.000m2 building was used many years for industrial production, it should still deliver the authentic atmosphere even after it has been rehabilitated for new functions. In order to keep the intangible precipitation of this place, a subtle and humble design strategy was necessary. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Almost 73,000 photos in our Flickr Pool! Remember you can submit your own photo here, and don’t forget to follow us through Twitter and our Facebook Fan Page to find many more features.

The photo above was taken by *manda in Valencia, Spain. Check the other four after the break.

Taking place at the University of Texas San Antonio College of Architecture April 13-15, the TEX-FAB 3.0 Conference will include a series of workshops as part of the international digital fabrication competition. Conducted by leading practitioners in the field of digital fabrication, the workshop is comprised on four distinct sequences that begin with basic skill building and progress until a broad understanding of the topics presented is achieved. For more information, please visit here.

Planned for completion in 2014, the iconic United Nations Headquarters (UNHQ) is in the middle of a $1.876 billion refurbishment project, known as the Capital Master Plan, which seeks to update the aging building with a more safe, modern and sustainable work environment. Located on the 18-acre site that was donated by John D. Rockefeller in the 1950s, the Manhattan UNHQ was designed by an international team of eleven architects who worked together in a post-World War II world to create an landmark building through collaboration rather than competition.

Continue reading for more details on the Capital Master Plan. 

The Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) has shortlisted nine design teams for the New Embassy Compound in Mexico City. The design/bid/build project, scheduled for construction in fiscal year 2015, is the first solicited under OBO’s new Design Excellence program. This holistic approach to project development and delivery seeks to utilize the best methods, technologies, and staff abilities to produce facilities that are outstanding in all respects. The overall strategy focuses on the integration of purpose, function, flexibility, art, safety, security, sustainability, and maintainability.

Continue reading for more information and to review the well-known shortlisted architects.

So far, I’ve cited the merits of the playground – the loudest, craziest, most running-aroundiest environment for kids you can imagine – as a point of inspiration for school design.

I’ve espoused the potential of community-oriented schools to motivate learning and, somewhat grandiosely I’ll admit, change the world.

I think I’ve uncovered a bias. In me, and in architecture at large.

For years, Western culture has valued and rewarded natural born extroverts in its effort to breed out-going, sociable, go-get-’em type citizens. (For two intelligent, chuckle-inducing narratives on the plight of the introvert, check out Jonathan Rauch’s touchstone piece in The Atlantic and Susan Cain‘s fabulous TED Talk).

In my zeal to present solutions to the obstacles facing education, I too got caught in the trap. To rectify this situation, I will – once again – examine schools; but this time, I take a more balanced approach. Today I take into account that bullied, forgotten group: introverts.

Singapore Airlines invites interested private sector companies and/or entities to participate in the Pre-Qualification Exercise to demonstrate their capabilities for the Proposed Development of a New Design Concept for the Silver Kris Lounges.