UNStudio revealed its competition-winning design for K31 Courtyard, a residential complex in Moscow that fosters community-building in the context of a rapidly changing city. The proposal features a stepped podium and two towers and reinterprets Moscow’s typical courtyard block, aiming to create a new neighbourhood through various housing typologies, amenities, and outdoor spaces.
German architecture firm Meyer-Grohbruegge has proposed a new residential typology that "adds a dynamic spatial dimension to a small building gap and emphasizes physical experience in housing". The competition-winning design features a central spiral staircase that connects the entire structure together and offers residents a fluid and dynamic interior that merges the outdoors and indoors.
VELUX Group reveals The Build for Life concept aimed at creating sustainable communities and built environment through affordable, socially-oriented designs and new housing models, healthy indoor climates and the use of low-impact materials. Developed together with EFFEKT, MOE engineers and Danish construction company Enemaerke & Petersen A/S, the concept provides architects and city planners with a “compass’ for navigating the sustainability imperatives of the moment while encouraging the design of healthier living places.
The UK government announced yesterday that planning approval will not be granted for Foster+Partners' Tulip tower. The decision letter published on behalf of the UK's housing secretary cites concerns over the design's embodied carbon and the possible negative impact on the surrounding architectural heritage. First revealed in 2018, the 305-metre tower would have become the tallest building in London's financial district.
The climate crisis has become a staple of the architecture discourse, with the field slowly acknowledging its contribution to environmental issues and seeking to reframe its values and approaches. However, there is an evident lack of commitment and consistency in addressing the matter and an absence of systemic change. Emerging practices, organizations and startups are carving a new architecture practice, slowly unfolding a paradigm shift beyond "green" add-ons and technical equipment. Addressing environmental issues on multiple levels, from policy and design strategies to materials and construction processes, the following are some of the actors reframing the profession's relationship with sustainability.
"What if the built environment could be a solution to the climate crisis, rather than part of the problem? What if buildings could act like trees – capturing carbon, purifying the air, and regenerating the environment?" Responding to these questions, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has proposed Urban Sequoia, an architectural concept inspired by the ecosystem at the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow - COP26. The design features “forests of buildings" that isolate carbon and produce biomaterials that create a new ecological and resilient urban environment.
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Zaha Hadid Architects reveals the winning design proposal for a mixed-use development in Budapest, comprising residential, office and retail functions, tied together by civic spaces and landscaped areas. The Zugló City Centre establishes a network of public squares and urban gardens that re-establish the natural ecosystem of Rákos Creek and connects the new development to the surrounding framework of parks and avenues.
The first phase of the Paradise Masterplan by Glenn Howells Architects (GHA) in Birmingham’s historic square has been completed, marking a major milestone in the city’s redevelopment plans. The newly restored civic square features Two Chamberlain Square, an eight-storey office building with a glazed facade and expansive column frame amidst 19th century cultural buildings.
MVRDV revealed plans for adaptive reuse of Berliner Union Film Ateliers (BUFA), receiving planning approval to redevelop the first two buildings. The project expands the scope of the site to address a broader user base, including all kinds of creative industries, as well as organisations and individuals involved in activism and social justice. Building on the site's heritage and spatial diversity, MVRDV proposes a series of sustainable transformations of the existing structures, reaffirming the adaptive reuse ethos.
The Serena del Mar Hospital Center (CHSM) is the first hospital designed by Safdie Architects. Focusing on the human being, the concept revolves around the idea that "access to nature and natural light are vital in creating improved therapeutic experiences for patients, families and staff alike". Seeking to provide a sense of well-being that leads to better clinical outcomes, the hospital has started opening in phases to the public, earlier this year. The firm's first project in Latin America is not the only one, in fact, Safdie Architects are working on Qorner, a residential project under construction in Quito, Ecuador, and the Albert Einstein Education and Research Center in Brazil, to be inaugurated in early 2022.
MAD Architects has broken ground on One River North, a sixteen-storey residential tower which features a descending nature trail carved into its façade. The project is set to "blur the lines between the built and natural environments" with more than 13,000 sq. ft. of open-air spaces, a water feature, and trail-like walkways, echoing Colorado's rich terrains. The project is expected to be complete towards the end of 2023.
Aedas reveals plans to transform the Pragati Maidan, an important civic space in New Delhi, into an exhibition and convention centre intended as a new city icon. Transformed into a national exhibition space in 1972, the site located on the bank of Yamuna River and neighbouring a series of cultural and historical venues was the subject of a 2016 international design competition that sought a contemporary upgrade to the programme. Aedas’ and Arcop’s winning project proposes a circular convention centre framed by an extensive landscaped public space, capitalizing on accessibility.
The Infinuts Plaza headquarters designed by Zaha Hadid Architects was inaugurated today, proposing a gateway for the new Baiyun Central Business District in Guangzhou, China. Developed on the site of a decommissioned airport traversed by a metro tunnel, the project proposes two distinct volumes with central atria that connect at multiple levels, resembling an infinity loop. Bringing together offices, research facilities, labs and a learning centre, the design proposes a work environment centred around connectivity and adaptability.
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Studio Gang has revealed 63rd House, its design for Blue Tin Production's new manufacturing studio in the heart of Chicago’s southwest side. The new headquarters, which is an adaptive reuse project of Chicago's two-story brick post office that was built in 1920, will feature a mix of meeting and artist spaces around a central community room, "centralizing workers’ well-being, deepening connections with neighborhood residents and partners, and building long-term economic mobility and racial equity across the city".
In celebration of its eight decades of design history, Eames Office recently inaugurated a new exhibition at Design Gallery Isetan The Space in Tokyo, rememorating Charles and Ray Eames’ human-centred design philosophy. Featuring classic furniture designs, archival works, recreated architectural models as well as new projects developed with brands like Herman Miller, Vitra, Ravensburger or Reebok, The 80 Years of Design exhibition illustrates the prolific and highly diverse work of the studio, highlighting the value of its designs for contemporary living.
One of Oscar Niemeyer's most famous projects, the iconic Copan building in downtown São Paulo, may finally have its restoration work started. After being negotiated for ten years, the project presented by a company hired by the building administration was partially approved by the Department of Historical Heritage (Departamento de Patrimônio Histórico - DPH) and the Municipal Council for the Preservation of the Historical, Cultural and Environmental Heritage of the City of São Paulo (Conselho Municipal de Preservação do Patrimônio Histórico, Cultural e Ambiental da Cidade de São Paulo - Conpresp).
Designed by Niemeyer together with Carlos Lemos, the building will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the beginning of its construction next year. However, it has been suffering from maintenance problems on the facade for almost two decades, such as infiltrations, falling tiles, disfiguring, detachment of concrete, and exposure of steel reinforcement, according to technical findings reported to the heritage agencies.
TRANSFER Architecture Video Award announced the awarded entries of its second edition in the framework of the cinema encounters Ecrans Urbains 2021 at the Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts of Lausanne, Switzerland.
The winner is the video by Joshua Bolchover and John Lin, Split Lives, Hong Kong, 2021
The Architectural Photography Awards 2021 has announced its shortlist for its ninth edition. Supported by Aluprof UK and the World Architecture Festival (WAF), the shortlist was selected from around 2000 entries and 42 countries, "highlighting the expertise of architectural photography and focusing on the skill and creativity of the photographer". The photographs are divided into 6 categories: Exterior, Interior, Sense of Place, Buildings in Use, Mobile, which this year’s theme is Greening the City, and Portfolio with the theme of Building with History.
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