Articles

The winning proposal for the multi-sports complex in the city of Antony, France responds to the strong political will of a new urban ambition for the neighborhood. The context is heterogeneous linear collective housing on one side and unique botanical heritage of the Park on the other. Designed by Archi5 + Tecnova Architecture, this project includes a theme for each function including gathering, meeting, sports activities, and events. This becomes evident in all aspects of the building at all levels. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Designed by Sparano + Mooney Architecture, they embraced the idea as light as a mediator for the central organizing principle for their proposal. The new Cathedral, a delicate dance between old and new, each contributes to its role in the creation of the new. The act of covering the precious ruins with a diaphanous, copper material creates the new space and form of the Cathedral which emerges as a dialogue between existing remains and new veil. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Hyuntek Yoon and Soobum You of Team Atelier Why shared with us their first prize winning proposal in the Detroit Riverfront competition. Their ‘Forest’ concept, which aims at being a fairy tale between the city and the forest by ‘filling’, is the focus of the urban development. Currently, the site is filled with voids, such as trees and the knoll, but the forest creates rich stories with the city. Providing spaces that are more secure and for smaller activities, people will have the chance to experience nature. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Located in an area of Lviv, Ukraine with unfinished buildings, the proposal for the Green Walking Mall is conceived as an inclusions program for the existing Bazar Quarter into the surrounding urban structures. Designed by Unika Architecture & Urbanism, this is accomplished through the new planning structure that installs broken links with neighboring quarters. Their design adds clarity to complicated pedestrian links and chaotic planning including program for the existing area into the surrounding urban structures. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Watch this video tour of the Bacardi Building in Miami, Florida, by the grandson of the original founder. The building, built in 1962, became the headquarters of the company for fifty years and has become an iconic modernist symbol in the city with an additional building added to the property in 1970. The building is designed by Enrique Guitierrez. The unique facade of the building was designed by ceramic artist Francisco Brennand using 20,000 tiles. The building resonates with Miami’s culture and has become a landmark for nearby residents. Tito Bacardi, who is the tour guide in the video, explains with pride how its the company’s legacy has become intertwined with the architecture – a building that represented Bacardi’s relocation from Cuba to America.

In Bangladesh, where rising sea levels are having profound effects on the landscape, one nonprofit organization called Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha run by architect Mohammed Rezwan is fighting back by adapting, a true quality of resilience. Rising water levels and the tumultuous climate is displacing people by the thousands; a projected 20% of Bangladesh is expected to be covered in water within twenty years. For a country that is one of the densest populated state on the planet, this figure has disastrous consequences for a population that has limited access to fresh water, food, and medicine. In response to these conditions, Shidhulai has focused on providing education, training and care against the odds of climate change by adapting to the altered landscape: moving schools and community centers onto the water – on boats.

To join in on all the holiday cheer, we decided to share with you this architectural funny that depicts the architectural history of the christmas tree. We found the clever illustration by Subtle Design on deviantART – “the world’s largest online art community”. Enjoy!

Installed in Sony Square in Tokyo and on display until January 14, the ‘Crystal Aqua Trees’ is a crystal work of art inspired by the concept of a fountain that can be seen as a spray of water as well as a Christmas tree. Designed by Torafu Architects, the project was inspired by the Trevi fountain in Rome, the “Ai no Izumi” (Fountain of Love) charity drive, which has been held by Sony every year since 1968. For this edition, the architects proposed a new embodiment as an interactive installation. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The competition for the ‘Ito Jakuchu Inspire’ pavilion is focused on the great celebration throughout the world of Ito Jakuchu’s work, a milestone in Japanese art history. Taking on a symbolic meaning, the competition effectively corresponds to a cultural phase of our existence. Designed by architects Đordje Alfirević and Sanja Simonović, this second prize winning proposal creates a dematerialization of boundaries between Ito Jakuchu’s perception of the reality in which he lived and the appearance of our modern world. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Open to all young creative minds from all parts of the world from the ages of 18-33, the Fenn Young Designers Award competition recently announced the judges and winners. Organized by Fenn Designers, based on interpreting “Organic”, they received a total of 280 participants, from 59 countries. The main question was, ‘How do you interpret “Organic” if you are designing a building, a piece of furniture, a fabric, a dress, a painting or any other form of art?’ More images and a complete list of the judges and the winners after the break.

Including well-known speakers such as Peter Eisenman, Reinhold Martin, Joan Ockman, and Bernard Tschumi, the “Ruins of Modernity: The Failure of Revolutionary Architecture in the 20th Century” event will be taking place in New York City February 7th from 7:00pm-10:00pm. Free and open to the public, the event is part of a larger series of panels and events centered around the theme of the death of art that will take place during the month of February 2013 in NYC. The modernists’ project consisted in giving shape to an inseparable duality, wherein the role of architecture was deduced as simultaneously a reflection of modern society as well as an attempt to transform it. The event highlights and debates the thoughts proposed by architectural theorists such as Victor Hugo, Colin Rowe, and Reyner Banham while looking at how the the last century influences architecture today. For more information, please visit here.

Located on the corner of 84th Street NW and Jasper Avenue, on the northern bank of the North Saskatchewan River and just east of Edmonton’s downtown core, the W12 – Real Time Control Building building, playing a crucial role in punctuating open public space along the river’s edge. Designed by gh3, the building will be highly visible from the north, south and east, seen from a series of vantage points ranging from distant to near. The project is an opportunity to invest in the design of the plant enclosure while celebrating the importance of municipal infrastructure and recognizing the role infrastructure buildings have in shaping the built fabric of the city. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Construction has exploded along the High Line ever since it opened: condos hover over the rehabilitated track and look out onto the Hudson, while the new location of the Whitney Museum is making headway on the southern end of the park as Google moves into its NYC headquarters to a building just a few short blows away. Now, the historic Chelsea Market may be looking at a facelift following approval from the New York City Council for increasing density in the building by developers, Jamestown Properties. The proposed vertical extension, which has made a brief appearance on a few architecture blogs, will provide the additional in demand office and retail space in the Chelsea neighborhood.

Hotel Droog, a new place of hospitality in Amsterdam by design studio Droog, challenges the notions of a hotel. Within its hospitable walls are housed myriad programs that aim to entertain, engage and elaborate on the experience of visitors to Amsterdam where the hotel is located. The programs vary from restaurants to retail store, exhibitions, beauty parlors, a garden, lecture halls and of course, hotel rooms. Hotel Droog is a 700 square meter cornucopia for tourists in the heart of a 17th century building and aspiring to become its new cultural home.

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During the past few days, we have received many e-cards from the offices, architects and photographers that are part of the ArchDaily network. Images from their offices, new buildings, ongoing projects, and even a video, are part of the many xmas greetings we selected to share with you.

After the break, 85 architectural ways of saying: Merry Christmas!

HHF & Burckhardt + Partner shared with us their second prize winning proposal for the Zoo Basel Ozeanium, which is embedded in the city and used as a park by residents and visitors. The proposed Ozeanium accommodates the scale of the surrounding buildings, such as the Rialto swimming pool, the market hall and the tall buildings on the city ring. The striking, confident construction volume is a clear indication of what an attraction this will be, enriching the city in a central location. The redesigning of the green area Nachtigallenwäldeli and the construction of the new Ozeanium, an ocean aquarium, on the Heuwaage are bringing the zoo and the park area even closer to the city center, to form an attractive living environment and recreational area. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Happy holidays from the architects! We made you a card.

To celebrate, here’s a few Christmas Cards from famous architects from the popular architecture blogs Life of an Architect and Coffee with an Architect.

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