Taking place at the California College of the Arts in San Fransisco October 13th from 10am-4pm, The Missing 32%,’ features leading professionals from around the country to discuss the role of women in architecture in the 21st century. In the United States, women represent about 50% of students enrolled in architecture programs, but only 18% of licensed architects are women. Throughout the day, attendees will hear from a broad range of speakers who represent different career paths in the profession ranging from those working for large firms to those choosing to start their own practice. The day will begin with a brief overview of statistics that detail the current leadership structure of architecture firms. The event is presented by AIA San Fransisco. For more information, please visit here.
The primary condition for the first prize winning design of the new headquarters of Congresso Nacional dos Municípios (CNM) is the creation of a metropolitan area in line with the urban context of the city of Brasilia. Designed by Luis Eduardo Loyola and Maria Cristina Motta, the project is embodied along an axis in the form of a white metallic volume floating gently on a concrete basement. The transparency of the volume creates a special relation with their surroundings. More images and architects’ description after the break.
What began as an academic initiative to improve the quality of life of poor strata of the population has meanwhile become a professional “do tank” offering services that cover the entire spectrum of urban development. Alejandro Aravena (1967 Santiago de Chile) founded Elemental in 2001 in his hometown with the goal of alleviating social deprivation directly instead of hoping for a balance of income relations. Besides building public facilities and public housing, Elemental also develops new approaches for the reorganization of resources and the potential of cities by means of projects devoted to infrastructure and transportation. This publication documents the social activity and history of the international architectural team and sheds light on its financing strategies, for example through participative building.
OMA has shared with us their proposal for the new National Art Museum of China (NAMOC) in Beijing. The Rotterdam-based practice is one of the all-star contenders competing to design the 1.3 million square feet NAMOC that will be built next to the Herzog & de Meuron-designed Bird’s Nest. Even though rumors are flying about a potential winner, the jury won’t announce the final results of the competition until November.
Given the epic proportions of the NAMOC, OMA has chosen to treat the massive structure as a small city by integrating a variety of city-like districts throughout. The proposal includes a range of experiences in both “classical, orthogonal” museum spaces as well as contemporary, open-plan areas. Continue after the break to learn more.
Rio de Janeiro-based writer Robert Landon has shared with us his experience exploring the work/live space of Atelier Gados, designed by female-led powerhouse of Rahbaran Hürzeler Architekten.
Thrusting out of a green hillside in an upscale suburb of Basel, Switzerland, Atelier Gados seems deliberately to announce its difference from its staid neighbors – as it should. For Atelier Gados — the work of the young Basel-based Rahbaran Hürzeler Architekten — is not just another conventional family residence, but the workshop of an avant-garde Basel clothing designer. In a little bourgeois valley otherwise divided into atomistic, private worlds, Atelier Gados is a place of commerce, a site of creation, an unlikely threshold where public and private are made to meet.
JA+U presents this brief interview with Japanese Architect Kumiko Inui of the Office of Kumiko Inui. The interview gives an inside look at to how architects choose to design. In Inui’s case, she explains how drawing and sketching is a way for her to explore her ideas in concepts, schematics and tectonics. Sometimes these ideas are not fully formed and Inui uses sketching as a strategy to let her mind wander and unfold her various thoughts on the architectural problems before her. Through iteration and reinterpretation, Inui explains how an idea from the depths of her subconscious, eventually surfaces.
This Friday, October 12, CityVision will celebrate its second year during the event UNKNOWN, a special event that will take place at Galleria di Architettura “come se”, a Roman architecture space devoted to creativity and innovation. The event will feature the winners of New York CityVision International Competition, which were recently featured here and the competition Awards Ceremony. During the event CityVision Magazine # 7, the new issue of the international free press on contemporary architecture, will also be presented and free distributed. it will be also possible to have a look at the site specific artwork made by SBAGLIATO for CityVision about the theme Past Shock. Another capital moment of the event will also be the seventh edition of PECHA KUCHA NIGHTTM ROMA.
RETHINK REUSE recently announced the winning entries in their Transforming Seattle’s 520 Floating Bridge 2012 International Design Ideas Competition. With the goal of envisioning new, innovative reuse strategies, the winners successfully answer the questions: What is a floating bridge when its function is no longer needed? What can designers do when faced with the design problem of reusing thirty-three floating concrete pontoons? More images and information on the winners after the break.
In a recent article for The Guardian, Hannah Rosin interviewed Emily White, a Facebook executive, who noted that our lives are no longer about work/life balance, but rather the work/life “merge.” Much like women in high-power executive positions, women in architecture (and particularly mothers) similarly must learn how to negotiate never-ending demands – from the workplace and the home – on a daily basis.
My own motherhood + architecture adventure began six years ago – so far, it has been a pretty wild ride. There are times I have felt invincible, like I’ve found the magic key to a brilliant life. But more often than not life has felt out of whack, like something wasn’t quite right. Again and again, I’ve attempted to put my finger on the problem, to find the missing piece of the jigsaw. Sometimes I succeed, and sometimes I don’t.
Each year the Architectural League presents the work of significant international figures who powerfully influence contemporary architectural practice and shape the future of the built environment. Co-sponsored by The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture of The Cooper Union, the program kicks off this year with the Alberto Kalach lecture, which will highlight his current work. Cited as one of the most versatile and prolific architectural voices in Mexico City today, Alberto Kalach co-founded the firm Taller de Arquitectura X (TAX) in 1981. Kalach’s concern for the emerging problems of his vast native city has inspired projects at a range of scales, from his minimal $5,000 houses to housing developments and urban master plans. Kalach’s most ambitious speculative plan, México Ciudad Futura, is the largest project ever conceived for Mexico City. The lecture is taking place Monday, Octobr 15, at 7:00pm at Cooper Union in New York. For more information about the event, please visit here.
