Ieoh Ming Pei, known as I. M. Pei, died today at the age of 102, according to The New York Times.
The Chinese-American architect (born April 26, 1917) was arguably the greatest living member of the modernist generation of architects. When he received his Pritzker Prize in 1983, the jury citation stated that he "has given this century some of its most beautiful interior spaces and exterior forms." His most notable work is the Louvre Pyramid.
TRS Studio has unveiled their design for a social project in the Callao region of Peru. The single-family module is based on a cargo container, constructed with strong materials emitting a low cost, and low environmental impact. The project is founded on community participation, improving the quality of health and housing in the Pesquero II settlement through sustainable materials.
Studio INI is set to unveil Urban Imprint, an immersive installation at A/D/O by MINI in Brooklyn that reconstructs the fabric of our urban environment and imagines the city as a megaphone to the self. The outdoor installation will open to the public tomorrow, May 17th, during NYCxDesign, New York City’s annual celebration of Design which takes place throughout May.
Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter has unveiled details of their housing scheme in Hafjelltoppen, Norway. Designed to accommodate about 1000 people, Mosetertoppen is rooted in both tradition and innovation, with inspiration drawn from the cultural landscape and building art, and a rethinking in relation to sustainable architecture, and how to build in the Norwegian mountain landscape in the future.
The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter (AIANY) have selected five New York City-based firms that will advance to the final stage of the Big Ideas for Small Lots NYC design competition. Launched in February 2019, the competition invited architects and designers to submit proposals that developed high-quality affordable housing on small, irregular lots across the city.
Following the popularity of their first two structural modeling kits, today Mola Model launches their Kickstarter campaign for Mola Structural Kit 3. Mola3 introduces cable structures to the system of hands-on structural learning, integrating seamlessly with the previous two kits. Because the Mola kits are designed as a single modular system, the new kit can be combined with the previous two, all connected via magnets, to model iconic structures like the Sydney Harbor Bridge or London’s Stansted Airport with the help of the bilingual instruction booklet.
Milano Arch Week has published details of their 2019 event, hosting a week of lectures, conversations, workshops, and itineraries on the main challenges of contemporary urban transformation. Running from 21st to the 26th May 2019, Milano Arch Week “explores the future of architecture and cities through a polyphony of voices; architects, urban planners, landscape designers, scientists, philosophers, artists, and curators from all over the world.”
Tom Dixon and IKEA have developed “Gardening Will Save The World,” an experiment in urban farming to be exhibited at the Chelsea Flower Show in London. Exploring the contrast of the hyper-natural and hyper-tech, the garden offers ideas in alternative, local, and more sustainable ways of growing food.
Studio Libeskind has unveiled details of Ngaren: The Museum for Humankind, a museum dedicated to the story of humans to be situated in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya. Commissioned by paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey, the museum will be the culmination of Dr. Leakey’s work, whose fossil discoveries have helped to reveal how humans evolved. The Museum will be the first center of its kind to present research, discovery, and exploration of more than two million years of human history and the origins of our universe from evolution, biodiversity, overpopulation, to war, disease, and climate change.
Volume Zero has announced the winners of their House of Santa competition, challenging participants to design a new place of residence for Santa Claus. The competition called for an inventive solution for Santa and his guests in a rapidly changing world, hosting a Toy Workshop, house, office space, post office, visitor accommodation for 10 guests, garage space, and a stable area for nine reindeers.
DnA has released images of its Music Studio By The Sea project, situated in Hebei Province, China. The studio building for a music foundation stands directly next to a long sandy beach, with a dune landscape in the background. On a square ground floor plan, the volumes ascend over three stories and conclude with a roof terrace.
Though only the Italian screenings have officially been announced, for May 20-22, international screenings of the upcoming 97-minute docu-film are promised to be announced soon. Created by Giacomo Gatti together with Scientific Director and Co-author Gregorio Carboni Maestri, “Palladio” features well-known scholars and aficionados of Palladian architecture, including Kenneth Frampton and Peter Eisenman, discussing the great architect’s legacy.
Netflix has published a new show on its streaming service on the subject of tiny houses. “Tiny House Nation” follows renovation experts John Weisbarth and Zack Giffin across America, as they help design and construct tiny homes in spaces under 500 square feet. The seven episodes from the 2014-2017 series feature homeowners from all walks of life, from Florida to Hawaii, seeking to join a Tiny Houses Movement that prioritizes smart living.
Herzog & de Meuron have released images of their proposed University Hospital Basel, Perimeter B in Switzerland. The 68-meter-tall building, with a footprint of over 5000 square meters, exhibits the firm's familiar clean, crisp aesthetic while paying respect to the surrounding historic context. Designed in collaboration with Rapp Architekten, the 12-story scheme will facilitate the hospital’s outpatient and nephrology centers.
AI SpaceFactory has been awarded first place in the NASA Centennial Challenge. The multi-planetary architectural and technology design agency’s Mars habitat MARSHA was awarded the overall winner in the long-running competition series, which saw 60 challengers in total. The MARSHA habitat offers a glimpse into what the future of human life could look like on Mars, with a 15-feet-tall prototype 3D printed during the final phase of the competition, including three robotically-placed windows.
A’ Design Award & Competition, the world’s largest and most diffuse international design awards, has announced results of their 2018–2019 design awards, 2437 winners from 106 countries in 98 different design disciplines. Entries were evaluated by an internationally influential jury panel composed of established scholars, prominent press members, creative design professionals and experienced entrepreneurs who carefully analyzed each entry.
TAB 2019, Tallinn’s 5th Architecture Biennale, will commence with its Opening Week from September 5-11, 2019. Earlier this week, the Biennale announced its programme of events for this year’s festival, which bears the theme “Beauty Matters: The Resurgence of Beauty”. TAB is an international celebration of architecture, organized by the Estonian Centre for Architecture and curated this year by Head Curator Dr. Yael Reisner. The Biennale consists of five main events, to take place in various venues in the heart of Tallinn, as well as a Satellite Programme hosting other events around the city.
Transformation of 530 Homes – Grand Parc Bordeaux by Lacaton & Vassal architectes, Frédéric Druot Architecture and Christophe Hutin Architecture has been awarded the 2019 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award. The innovative renovation of three large blocks of social housing in Bordeaux was praised for “radically improving the space and quality of life of its occupants” and for optimizing their economic and environmental cost of living.
