Architecture News

The Library of the Torcuato Di Tella University (UTDT) and the Center for Contemporary Architecture Studies (CEAC) of the School of Architecture and Urban Studies (EAEU, UTDT) have announced the complete digitization of all articles from Block magazine in the Torcuato Di Tella University Digital Repository, located in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. Celebrating 25 years since its first edition, they have decided to make all nine issues freely available online in an effort to contribute to the construction of an architecture with meaning and identity.

The Harajuku Quest, designed by Shohei Shigematsu and OMA New York, represents a renewed commercial and cultural center in the Harajuku district of Tokyo. Located on a site in between Omotesando and Oku-Harajuku, the building is the newest phase of NTT’s “With Harajuku”, a larger urban development that aims to facilitate the flow of people through a series of squares and commercial areas. Harajuku Quest plans to draw people and activities from both Omotesando and Oku-Harajuku and connect the two areas for the first time. Construction is expected to complete in 2025.

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New York-based firm HWKN will create 18,200 square meters of urban development in the commercial quarter of the new Canada Water regeneration plan. In collaboration with the scheme's master planner, BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group, the developer Art-Invest Real Estate UK, and the local community, HWKN makes its UK architectural debut by designing one of the three buildings at the Dockside, London. The building will blend innovative workspaces, commerce, and communal amenities.

The Canada Water Masterplan will transform a total of 215,000 square meters and is expected to deliver up to 3,000 new homes, 280,000 square meters of workspace, and community space in central-south London. The first new town center in London in 50 years would become the UK's most sustainable new urban hub after completion, expected in 2035.

Currently in its 6th year, The Architecture Drawing Prize continues to celebrate the art of drawing in three categories: hand-drawn, hybrid and digital.

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Ennead Architects has revealed the design for the Wuxi Art Museum in the historic port city of Wuxi, China. The competition-winning design proposes a new center for art and culture that builds upon the tradition of the Chinese gardens, a practice with a long legacy in the region. The complex is located in the Shangxianhe Wetland Park, a natural environment that informs and influences the museum experience. According to the designers, the architecture behind the Wuzi Art Museum is conceived as a Taihu Scholar Stone, a contemplative spatial structure sitting quietly in the broader natural context and inviting visitors to pause.

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To commemorate the centenary of Elissa Aalto (1922-2022), the Alvar Aalto Foundation brought into tour an exhibition showcasing the life's work of this talented and influential Finnish architect and designer. From September to November 23, 2022, the exhibition sheds light on her public and private role in the everyday life of Alvar Aalto's architect's office alongside her famous architect husband. The tour will take place in the Cities of Rovaniemi, Alajärvi, and Tammisaari, home to many buildings designed by the legendary Finnish architect couple.

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First drafted by Renzo Piano and developed by RPBW and OBR, the Waterfront di Levante is a project that aims to transform what was previously the back of a port into a new urban front on the sea. The development is planned to become a new landmark on the seafront of Genoa, Italy, by bringing new urban and port functions, both public and private, to an underutilized area. By controlling the built-to-open area ratio, it also seeks to enhance the connection between the city and the sea. The project introduces functions such as the new Urban Park, a new dock, residences, offices, student housing, retail facilities, apart-hotels, and a new sports hall.

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KCAP won the design competition for the Coastline of Yantai, Shandong Province, south of Beijing. As one of China's top 10 ports and a gateway city for communication between Japan and South Korea, Yantai Seafront Garden will transform the underused coastal area into an influential economic and technological development zone in Northeast China. The conceptual proposal was selected by its vision of 4 stages along the 95km of waterfront, including water conservation zones, a "sponge city" community, and a resident tidal shoreline.

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In an effort to expand the debate around the issues and opportunities facing urban environments worldwide, UN-Habitat has designated October 31 as “World Cities Day”, an event celebrated annually since 2014. This year the events are centered around the theme “Act Local to Go Global”, with the aim to share experiences and approaches to local actions, the initiatives that were successful and those that were not, and to seek to understand ways in which local and regional governments can help create greener, more equitable and sustainable cities.

The theme was chosen based on the understanding that local actions are of critical importance in achieving the sustainable development goals set for 2030. The 2030 Agenda sets out the UN ambition to contribute to creating cities and human settlements more inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. The world’s largest cities are often the most unequal. This year’s theme suggests that there is a path forward through incremental changes and localized actions. By adapting to site-specific conditions, these actions can better respond to the individual needs of the communities, and the natural conditions of climate and topography and can help strengthen the cultural identity of urban environments.

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Videos

Under the motto "Get Set," the 2022 DDW exhibited more than 50 art and architectural installations to call out designers and communities for a shift from preparation to action facing the challenges of our time. Led by Miriam van der Lubbe, Creative Head of DDW, with Marjan van Aube and Formafantasma as ambassadors, the 21st edition of the Dutch Design Week took place the last week of October in Eindhoven, the Netherlands closing with a Graduation Show of over 200 students of the Design Academy Eindhoven.

Inspiring designers to incorporate innovation and sustainability and familiarize the public with all the technology has to offer, ArchDaily has selected 9 relevant works focused on bio-materials and modular systems. Highlighting ongoing design research, the list underlines projects that reinvent how we deal with nature and the space we live in. 

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The Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (Mitma), in collaboration with the Higher Council of Spanish Architects' Associations (CSCAE) and supported by the Arquia Foundation, has launched a two-stage selection process to choose the curatorial team for the XVI Spanish Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism (BEAU). The deadline for submitting proposals for the first stage is December 14, 2022.

IE University, in collaboration with All Things Urban, would like to invite you to our "Cities and Jobs Series". A series of webinars are being hosted by the two organizations, for the launch of IE’s new Bachelor program in Urban Studies (for which applications are now open). The multidisciplinary program examines urban issues in a holistic way to prepare the future generation of urbanists to tackle the pressing challenges of our cities.

Cities only occupy 2% of the planet’s surface, but they accommodate more than 50% of the population. They consume 75% of global energy, produce 80% of global CO2 emissions, and generate more than 80% of the global GDP today. These numbers put cities at the center of any discussion about global warming, urbanization, progress, and social issues.

The three online webinars will tackle conversations from “Urban Artificial Intelligence: how can we urbanise technology?” to “Urban Green Infrastructure: How can nature save cities” and “Urban social inequalities: How can cities include people?”

Videos

The Second Studio (formerly The Midnight Charette) is an explicit podcast about design, architecture, and the everyday. Hosted by Architects David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet, it features different creative professionals in unscripted conversations that allow for thoughtful takes and personal discussions.

A variety of subjects are covered with honesty and humor: some episodes are interviews, while others are tips for fellow designers, reviews of buildings and other projects, or casual explorations of everyday life and design. The Second Studio is also available on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube.

This week David and Marina are joined by Architecture Workers United (AWU) Members Andrew Daley, Associate Organizer at IAMAW and Jennifer Siqueira, Project Architect at Bernheimer Architecture to discuss their involvement with the AWU; the fundamentals of unions and how to start one; the state of unionization in the profession; the pros and cons of forming a union; and more.

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Aiming to recognize initiatives that benefit Brazilian architecture and cities, the 5th edition of the FNA Award (Prêmio FNA 2022) has announced its winners. The national news portal ArchDaily Brasil, the Rio de Janeiro-based non-profit organization Comunidades Catalisadoras (ComCat), and the Fab Social project from Guarulhos (SP) will receive the award on November 26 during the 46th National Meeting of Architects and Urban Planners Unions (46th ENSA) in Brasília (DF). The decision involved former presidents and the organization's current president, Eleonora Mascia, who highlighted the projects' contributions to both the professional community and Brazilian society.

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has revealed the design of 8 Shenton Way, a 305 meters-high tower. Once completed it would become not only Singapore's Tallest Building but one of Asia's most sustainable skyscrapers. The mixed-use tower takes cues from bamboo forests to create an indoor-outdoor vertical community with public spaces, offices, retail, a hotel, and residences. In partnership with DCA Architects, the project is scheduled for completion in 2028 and will become the newest landmark on the Singapore skyline, along with Marina Bay and CapitaSpring Tower.

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The 24 shortlisted international projects for airports, university campuses, stations, and sports facilities competing for the Prix Versailles 2022 Awards have been announced. The global finalists in the Shops, Shopping Centres, Hotels, and Restaurants category will also be announced shortly.

The internationally recognized artist Olafur Eliasson has inaugurated his most recent public art installation in Doha, Qatar. The installation, titled “Shadows Travelling on the Sea of the Day”, can be reached by diving through the rugged desert landscape northwards from Doha, past Fort Zubarah, and the village of Ain Mohammed. The artwork is visible from afar, but it is best experienced when approached on foot. Its hospitable shadows reward the journey.

White Arkitekter and HPP Architekten have been selected to design the new medical clinic, NMK, in Tübingen, Germany. Both firms, with vast experience in healthcare design and wood architecture, aim to realize a project in which, the elements of an integral, sustainable overall concept also play an essential role, in addition to the aspects of healing architecture and optimized functional organization. The new Medical Clinic of the University Hospital of Tübingen will be one of the 34 university hospitals in Germany that contributes to the successful combination of high-performance medicine, research, and teaching.