This post is by Cian O' Driscoll, the writer of a lifestyle blog called Raconteur Living that explores architecture and popular culture. Cian is currently undergoing a Master of Science in Architecture at Cork Institute of Technology, Ireland.
Abandoned cities are an unfortunate consequence of life and growth on our planet. The reasons for abandoning a city are as varied as the people who once inhabited their buildings and walked their streets. Many of these cities are forgotten and simply line the pages of history. Some are examples of poor urban planning; some the result of the depletion of natural resources, while others are poignant reminders of the fragility of life in a nuclear world.
Below are some striking images of abandoned cities from around the world. Many of these cities have been abandoned for decades, however, due to rapid growth and expansion, particularly in China, we are now in an era of “modern” abandoned cities.
Read the stories behind these modern-day ghost towns, after the break...
The third prize winning proposal for the design of art residences in the village of Nikola-Lenivets, Russia is based on the principle of ecological compatibility and convergence with nature. Designed by Megabudka, this is achieved by architectural solutions, volumetric-spatial structures, interaction with environment, and internal physical and mental filling. This new community for artists, and all creative people, will consist of dormitories, a nursery, community center, family houses, and private units. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The U.S. Department of State recently announced a request for proposals from any U.S. nonprofit organization at the 14th Venice Architecture Biennale, which is set to take place June 7-November 23, 2014. This includes museums, galleries, design centers, schools of architecture and design, and independent curators affiliated with a non-profit organization. The deadline for submissions is April 1, 2013. For more information, please visit here.
The concept of the park is based on the existing and traditional terraces of Cyprus and, more specifically, Latsia.
These terraces not only allow for the management of the slope and water but link the project’s programme, as an environmental centre, to its spatial design. By consolidating the existing terraces, which define the park’s configuration, the terraces generate an intrinsic spatial relation between the park activities, the landscape and the views. Moreover, the terraces have been designed so a minimum amount of earth will be moved and so people with reduced mobility will have easy accessibility.
Originally published on the author’s website and blog on Archinect, 'Ruins of an Alternate Future (Jinhua Architecture Park)' was written by Shanghai-based architectural designer and theorist Evan Chakroff.
One of the great, if seldom realized, promises of architecture is its capacity to affect change. The best architects seem to have this potential in mind constantly as they structure career-length narratives around the social impact that good design can achieve. While this is often hyperbole, and most projects are driven by functional or economic considerations, there is the occasional opportunity for artists and architects to create purely speculative work, where radical departures from established typologies suggest alternatives to the status quo. In these rare cases, novelty is embraced not for its own sake, but for its potential to generate new archetypes, to provide a glimpse into a parallel world where architecture truly has agency: where design can change society for the better.
With urbanistic planning in mind, the proposal by Baumschlager Eberle for the law courts of Caen redefines a new domain in the center of the city. In collaboration with Atelier d’Architecture Pierre Champenois, the shape of the building agrees not only with the tradition but of course with the more complex duties of law courts in the 21st century. An orthogonal pattern constitutes the base for the organization of the needs of the law courts. More images and architects’ description after the break.
New Theme Gallery in Los Angeles is proud to present their first solo exhibition of award-winning photographer Ethan Pines. Starting off with an opening reception tonight, February 2nd, from 7pm-10pm, his work documents the peculiarity of forms borne of Los Angeles’ unique urban typologies. This exhibition reveals patterns of urbanization in Los Angeles while proposing a new, sustainable form in terms of New Theme’s recent design of the Green Greenberg Green House.
Pines’ award-winning editorial and commercial work has been featured in Wired, Los Angeles Magazine, The New York Times, Food & Wine, Sony Music and Dolby Laboratories. Over the last few years he has also documented the city in terms of private moments separated from the greater agglomeration. For more information, please visit here. More images of Pines’ work can be viewed after the break.
Taking place February 8-9, the Building Pulitzer Colloquium, which is free and open to the public, will bring together key participants in the design and construction of this iconic building. The colloquium will provide unique insight into the extraordinary collaboration and dedication required to realize this project. Hosted by the The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts and Washington University in St. Louis, the event focuses on how this building, designed by an internationally recognized architect, was completed. Topics will include the working structure between Tadao Ando’s office and the St. Louis-based team, the realization of Ando’s design intent through the translation of American methods of construction, and the creation of a work environment that fostered construction excellence. More information on the event after the break.
Awarded the second prize in the recent Ramat Efal Education Campus Competition, the ‘Fields of Knowledge’ proposal by ShaGa Studio + Auerbach Halevy Architects/Ori Rittenberg(Rotem) integrates a series of linear ‘knowledge fields’ into a rich and varied learning experience, weaving together exteriors and interiors, the public and the community. Evoking the memories of old agriculture fields in Ramat Efal, their design criticizes an existing plan that splits the campus into three divided plots and suggests instead an integration of both school & public programs within an overall ‘field condition’. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Focusing on local architecture, the proposal for the Mosque (Amir Al- Momenin) by CAAT Studio detaches from everyday life and the approach to worship space in accessing the building. The integrated entity of the proposal plays its role as a religious and cultural center in the region scale while communicating with the environment. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Walkability, density, and mixed-use have become key terms in the conversation about designing our cities to promote healthy lifestyles. In an interview with behavioral psychologist, Dr. James Sallis of the University of California San Diego in The Globe and Mail, Sallis discusses how his research reveals key design elements that encourage physical activity. In the 20th century, the automobile and new ideals in urban planning radically changed the way in which cities were structured. Residential and commercial areas were divided and highways were built to criss-cross between them. Suburban sprawl rescued city dwellers from dense urban environments that had gained a reputation for being polluted and dangerous. In recent decades, planners, policy makers and environmentalists have noted how these seemingly healthy expansions have had an adverse affect on our personal health and the health of our built environment. Today, the conversation is heavily structured around how welcoming density, diversity and physical activity can help ameliorate the negative affects that decades of mid-century planning have had on health. Sallis describes how much of a psychological feat it is to change the adverse habits that have developed over the years and how design, in particular, can help encourage the change.
Designed by YCF Group, in collaboration with ARCA Consulting and AFH Haiti (Architecture for Humanity), their proposal for the Notre Dame de l’Assomption draws on the life and culture of the Haitian people, while remembering the site’s history and the lives lost on January 12, 2010. Inspired by a Haitian fisherman’s boat, the project’s folded origami form aims links the new cathedral to the old cathedral’s former function as a lighthouse. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Exhibited at the Designers’ Saturday 2012 in Langenthal, Switzerland and at the BAU 2013 in Munich, Germany, the experimental installation “Abstraction” transforms shadows and lights into predefined pixels. Created by architects Peter Thomas Hornung of Hornung and Jacobi Architecture and Axel Schenke, their patented system uses the given material properties of Corian and assigned it with so far unknown qualities. More images and architects’ description after the break.
A true legacy in the field of architecture and beyond, Oscar Niemeyer, who died just this past December at the age of 104, has traveled into the heart of many, one of which is graffiti artist Eduardo Kobra. In honor of the Brazilian architect, Kobra created a 61-yard art piece on the side of a building in Sao Paulo’s financial district. The immense, colorful mural cannot be missed as people pass by and admire the work. Expressing Niemeyer’s love for concrete, curves and Le Corbusier, the mural truly encompasses the architect’s aim to, “…produce an architecture that serves everyone and not just a group of privileged people.” More images can be viewed after the break.
Aiming to provide a new gateway and identity, the two-story, 87,135-square-feet Roche Diagnostics Training Center re-imagines their Indianapolis campus. Designed by SOM, the project just broke ground as it begins to establish a new and consistent brand identity for the Swiss-based pharmaceutical company. The new building’s clean, modern aesthetic embodies Roche’s corporate architectural philosophy and is informed by a 100 year legacy of European design precedents. More images and architects’ description after the break.
We here at ArchDaily are big fans of Roman Mars' radio program 99% Invisible, and just had to share the latest show: "In and Out of Love." In it, Mars explores the changing face of Philadelphia's JFK Plaza (more commonly known as LOVE Park), why its Modernist characteristics made it perfect for skateboarding (although city officials certainly didn't feel that way), and why Le Corbusier truly is the patron saint of skateboarders.
And, if you like this, check out Why Skateboarding Matters to Architecture, and follow the jump for some very cool, very innovative skate-friendly homes, stores, and parks...
Architecture for Humanity Chicago recently announced the launch of their 4th annual ACTIVATE! Design Competition, which is free and open to the public. The competition challenges participants to redefine a public space on a temporary basis and on a budget of $1,000. The designs should aim to leverage community development through the implementation of small scale place making infrastructure. This will be a partnership with Chicago Department of Transportation as part of the ‘Make Way for the People’ initiative. It will focus on four sites in the city: Old Town, Pilsen, Woodlawn, and East Garfield Park. The deadline for entries is March 15. For more information, please visit here.
With the site of the proposed project characterized by a 7m height difference between the south west corner and the north east one and the fastest way to access to it is from the roads west and north of it, the Huaihua Theater and Exhibition Center will be managed by three different subjects adding further difficulties in organizing the layout. Designed by United Design Group, the 60,000 m² complex is equally subdivided between the theater/cinema part (30,000 m²) and exhibitions: 12,000 m² for the museum; 10,000 m² for the urban planning hall; 3000 m² for the fine arts museum and 1000 m² for the local history exhibition. An extra 6000 m² will host the art training center. More images and architects’ description after the break.
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