Ennead Architects has won the international design competition to design the new Shanghai Yangtze River Estuary Nature Preserve in China. Located on an island at the mouth of the Yangtze River, the design was made to raise public awareness around the impact of pollution and construction. The nature reserve aims to rescue critically endangered species and restore biodiversity while allowing visitors to immerse themselves in a natural setting outside the dense urban core of Shanghai.
Hungarian firm Építész Stúdió has revealed their design for the New Museum of Transport in Hungary, a scheme which was placed third in an international competition won by Diller Scofidio + Renfro. The Építész Stúdió scheme imagined a new structure placed perpendicular to the existing building on the site, with the two buildings intertwined into one system.
The new series of structures manifest as a virtual continuation of the former head building on the street side, with a band-like entrance canopy linking the old and new units on the railway side. Intersecting the old and new buildings, a “Recreation Bridge” connects to the existing static volume to the dynamic additions.
London-based artist and architectural designer Yunil Nam has developed an illustrated project inspired by Jules Verne’s science fiction novel “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.” The project, titled “The Reef of Silence” explores a “funerary venue and coral cultivation facility within an underwater structure alongside an investigation into cultural and environmental issues in the Indian Ocean.”
The fictional scheme is designed to revitalize endangered vultures preying upon dead human bodies, alongside its religious function. The “Tectonic Vultures” burial process consists of new techniques in body decomposition such as freeze-drying and liquefaction, transforming the human body into nutrients in the form of powder or liquid.
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Morpholio has unveiled AR Sketchwalk, a new augmented reality tool geared towards helping architects bridge the gap between model and reality. Released today, AR Sketchwalk allows designers to use augmented reality to dive into their sketches to give both their clients and themselves a truer sense of the space.
More than 80,000 votes were cast over the last two weeks and, after careful review, the results of the 2019 ArchDaily Building of the Year Awards presented by Unreal are in. Building of the Year, which itself celebrated ten years this year, is the largest peer-based crowdsourced architecture award in the world, showcasing the projects chosen by you, our readers, as the most significant of the year.
This is no mean feat. More than 4000 projects were in contention this year, challenging readers to carefully consider a wide variety of projects across type, scale, and location. 4000 projects were whittled to 75 finalists; 75 have now been reduced to the 15 winners - one for each typological category.
The results are as diverse as the architecture itself. Well-known names are, as in years past, present among the bunch, among them Zaha Hadid Architects, MVRDV, and Heatherwick Studio. For London-based Heatherwick, their win marks the second consecutive year they have taken top honors for a refurbishment-based project. But less-renowned names dominate the ranks of the winners this year. Innocad’s serenely simple office building for a real estate company elevates what corporate architecture can be while the technical and material mastery of Sameep Padora’s Maya Somaiya Library is enough to make any architect look twice. The library is, in fact, one of two Indian projects to take top honors this year - a strong first year showing for the nation whose design talent seems finally to be coming to the fore.
But for all their many beautiful differences, the winners share a crucial element in common: they represent the values of our mission, to bring inspiration, knowledge, and tools to architects everywhere. Building of the Year - indeed, ArchDaily itself - would not be possible without the generosity of firms and readers as invested in our mission as we are. We give our profound thanks to all who participated this year, no matter the form. Congratulations to all the winners!
Finnish practice ALA Architects has won the competition to design the new Learning Center of Université Lumière Lyon II in France. The project will be the second major library building by the office behind the recently opened Helsinki Central Library Oodi, and it will be ALA's first French commission. The building will replace the existing library and showcase sustainable construction alongside new teaching and study methods.
In their most recent design competition, Bee Breeders partnered with Urban Zoo Coworking to seek a signature style for Urban Zoo’s coworking spaces. Viewed as a prototype to be adapted to each new venue, these interior designs needed to be customizable for various users. Common inhabitants of Urban Zoo Coworking’s spaces include freelancers, start-ups, and small businesses who need a workspace to meet their different creative needs.
Italian architect Beatrice Bonzanigo of IB Studio has revealed her design for Casa Ojalá, an off-grid, mobile micro home to be unveiled at Milan Design Week. Designed with over 20 configurations in only 27 square meters, the patented project was made to be easily assembled in any location. Bonzanigo created the design so occupants can better connect with nature while minimizing their environmental impact.
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) has announced the completion of the SOHO Gubei office tower in Shanghai. Inspired by the proportions of Constantin Brâncuși’s “Endless Column” sculpture, the tower manifests as an undulating obelisk with a diagonally canted zig-zag profile.
Each side of the tower’s sculptural form consists of four stacked volumes, with a series of shifted grids creating a density of wall surfaces that offer shade, reduce glare, and create a sense of urban solidity.
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Studio Gang has unveiled a design for the University of Chicago Center in Paris. The Center in Paris Project seeks to “create a new hub for scholarship and cultural exchange in Paris’ rapidly-developing 13th arrondissement” with an academic center and a mixed-use residential building.
The scheme is adorned with biodiverse green spaces and an architecture that physically and intellectually weaves the block into the existing urban fabric. To support a lively dialogue between the University and local communities, shared spaces have been carefully arranged to connect to the outdoors and encourage communication.
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill have revealed new images of their design for 35 Hudson Yards, a new tower that will be part of the largest private real estate development in the history of the United States. SOM provided architectural design and structural engineering services for the mixed-use tower in New York, which is set to become the tallest residential building in Hudson Yards. Standing 1,000 feet tall, the project will express transitions in program as a series of setbacks twisting around the tower.
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Construction has begun on OMA’s pyramid-shaped mixed-use building – Xinhu Hangzhou Prism – which forms the heart of Hangzhou’s Future Tech City in the new Technology Central Business District (CBD). Led by the firm's partner Chris van Duijn, the project is commissioned by Zhejiang Xinhu Haichuang Group.
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Northern Ireland-based architect John Donnelly has launched a studio dedicated to the production of finely-detailed plaster-cast architectural models exploring the diverse built environment of Belfast, Northern Ireland. “Model Citizen” was founded to promote public understanding and appreciation of the architecture and craftsmanship present in Irish cities, manifesting as an ongoing series of intricate sculptures.
Model Citizen sees its sculptures, available for closer inspection here, as a “mechanism to emphasize the beauty and significance of our built heritage,” translating art deco, brutalist, and internationalist styles into tangible, tactile sculptural objects that can be held, felt, and explored.
Data-driven design has been a holy phrase in architecture for some time now. The ability to refine and apply information on any range of topics, from movement to sun paths to air quality, hold enormous potential to positively impact design not just for one party but for all. Decisions can be made faster, buildings can be built better, inhabitants can be made more comfortable.
GoArchitects has launched a Kickstarter campaign for the development of a collection of notebooks inspired by the greatest architects of all time. The A5, hardcover-bound notebooks are designed to be “durable, perfectly sized, and foster a curious and creative confidence.” The six unique notebooks are adorned with the quotes and graphic styles of some of the most famous architects from eras past, such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe, and Philip Johnson.
The notebooks have been made to help “unlock creativity, problem-solving, innovation, and critical thinking.” Containing 200 pages of uncoated off-white paper, with a dotted grid pattern, the notebooks also features a ruler page in imperial and metric scales.
As part of Tripoli’s economic revival plan, the International Union of Architects (UIA), in collaboration with the Lebanese Federation of Engineers and Architects (on behalf of the Tripoli Special Economic Zone / TSEZ), the Union of Mediterranean Architects (UMAR), and the Lebanese Government, have launched an international architecture competition to create a Knowledge and Innovation Center in the northern city of Lebanon.
The proposed site is situated on an empty lot within Oscar Niemeyer’s abandoned Rachid Karami International Fair, a modernist exhibition complex that has yet to see the light of restoration. The objective of the competition is to create a technology and business hub which will foster and promote start-up businesses and entrepreneurs, attracting students, young graduates, local and international companies to Tripoli and the neighboring region.
IKEA’s research and design laboratory SPACE10 has unveiled their latest project, SolarVille, to showcase new ways to democratize access to clean, renewable energy. Based in Copenhagen, the team partnered with blockchain experts BLOC, Blocktech, WeMoveIdeas India and architecture practice SachsNottveit. The project explores how combining new technologies with solar power can make clean energy more affordable. The vision centers on cooperative micro-grids where homeowners can become makers and traders of clean energy.
Since its founding in 1851, The New York Times has published thousands of obituaries listing the lives and legacies of some of the world’s most influential people. However, by their own admission, the listings have historically been dominated by white men. In order to address this, The Times launched its “Overlooked” series in 2018, telling the stories of women such as Sylvia Plath and Emma Gatewood.
In advance of International Women’s Day, The Times has published an obituary by Alexandra Lange detailing the life and legacy of Julia Morgan, the first woman to earn an architect’s license in California, and “a prolific designer of hundreds of buildings, namely the Hearst Castle at San Simeon."
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