Articles

Romanian Lighting Convention 2011 is a cultural, scientific, but mostly social meeting of architecture, design and lighting specialists in South Eastern Europe. It was created as a privileged communication area for those who regard light as a source of inspiration and who use light to emphasize and place value on the public space.

CVDB Arquitectos has shared with us their proposal for the Oeiras Forum in Oeiras Portugal. Follow after the break for additional images and a brief narrative from the architects.

At 82 Frank Gehry shows no sign of slowing down. Working on 20 projects at any given time, the Pritzker Prize winning architect’s latest completed work New York by Gehry had its formal opening just last month. In this interview Gehry shares how he was inspired by ice hokey, that Gian Lorenzo Bernini is one of his greatest influences, and what he has always wanted to design.

More following the break.

Scandinavian practice White Arkitekter has won the Salford House 4 life competition, organized by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). White’s proposal was chosen as the winning scheme from 59 entries. For more images of their proposal and a succinct description, follow after the jump.

This short video by architectural photographer Pedro Kok, features the Rolex Learning Center at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland. Designed by SANAA, the building features impressive concrete lines that create a fluidity between the interior spaces.

This is an update from the project already published in 2008 from slovenian architects OFIS arhitekti. In the words of the architects: “This project involved the extension of a 19th-century villa located in a beautiful Alpine resort next to Lake Bled. Both the old villa and the landscape were strictly regulated by the National Heritage.”

When coming across Delugan Meissl Associated Architects’s newest book I first noticed its sheer weight and size. The second thing I noticed were the words Vol. I. Most architects would be happy/lucky enough to fill a book a quarter the size with their work. The projects range from chairs and small houses to the Porsche Museum and master planning of healthcare campuses. The introduction by Karl Jormakka gives a nice lens in which to view their work. Their work is constantly trying to elicit physiological responses “from a visceral juxtaposition of the human body with the architectural setting,” says Jormakka. In this way their work differs from many of the avant-garde architects who tie their work to French philosophers or abstract ideas from the natural sciences. Viewing DMAA’s work in this light, readers can easily explore how each project attempts to physiologically engage its users.

FUTURE is launching an international ideas competition to identify the best design concepts with the challenge to develop visionary urban proposals with the intention of stimulating contemporary cities, in this case 4 different locations: Hangzhou, Nanjing, Madrid and Barcelona.

Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects are continuing to move forward assisting those who have been displaced following the Japan earthquake and tsunami. The Ex-Container Project, which we featured just last week, is one affordable design solution offering easy transport and installation without compromising quality.

Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects are providing daily updates, via their Twitter account, about the reconstruction progress in the disaster areas.

Further details about the project and how you can offer support can be found here.

STL Chicago has shared with us their latest project, Spiretec, a Mixed Use IT campus in the greater Noida region of India. Additional images and a brief description from the architects after the break.

The Netherlands Architecture Institute recently shared their spring lecture series with us. The program will focus its events around one of its key themes, Time, and its interrelationship with architecture.

O-S Architects shared with us the Cultural Center of Saint-Germain-lès-Arpagon in Essonne, France, a project they won in January 2011 that will be in completed in 2013. Surrounded by a school and a cemetery, the project takes advantage of the sloping site to fit discreetly, while affirming its status of signal. The program is split into two levels, a high-level square and a low level square connected by a passage crossing the building. The urban composition and tight line in the landscape position the project as a pole of attraction in the neighborhood. More images and architects’ description after the break.

This week our Architecture City Guide is heading to Memphis. Called the Bluff City, Memphis is the birthplace of Rock-n-Roll, Elvis, and the Blues. Along with the lively music scene, Memphis offers an architectural landscape that tells its history and speaks to its future. With the help of a Memphis local, Sophorn McRae, we selected twelve contemporary buildings that should not be missed when you visit the Bluff City. Limited to twelve, we could hardly include all the locals’ favorites so please leave your must not miss in the comment section following the break.

The Architecture City Guide: Memphis list and corresponding map after the break!

For our 7th selection, we have five great libraries featured between August and October 2010. Check them all after the break.

New Queens Library at Hunters Point / Steven Holl Architects New York will be the recipient of another Steven Holl project – a new library at the Queens West Development at Hunters Point. Envisioned as a contemporary “urban forum”, the project will shape public space and create new connections across the Queens West Development, Hunter Points South, and the existing neighborhood of Hunters Point (read more…)

The award winning architecture firm Allied Works Architecture has just released their much anticipated first book entitled Allied Works Architecture Brad Cloepfil: Occupation. The book is an in-depth exploration of the buildings and ideas of Allied Works, as well as a forum for conversations that consider the role of creative practice.

Brad Cloepfil, founding partner of Allied Works Architecture, will discuss the firm’s new book at the Ace Hotel New York (you can see more about the hotel’s design here) this evening from 8pm to Midnight. Allied Works Architecture has created a special installation “Forest in the Trees” in the gallery at Ace New York to accompany the book release that will run until the 28th of April. Please RSVP to ExPac at expac@acehotel.com.

Allied Works Architecture and ArchDaily are giving away three copies of Allied Works Architecture Brad Cloepfil: Occupation to registered ArchDaily users. Enter by sharing with us in the comment section your favorite Allied Works Architecture project that we have featured. Become a registered user of ArchDaily right here, share your comment by next Tuesday, April 26th, and good luck!

The award-winning Moonstone Project, designed using GRAPHISOFT’s ArchiCAD BIM software, is one of the UK’s best performing houses, exceeding the UK’s Code 6 Sustainable Homes Guide; the house also exceeds the German ‘Passivhaus’ top standard for energy efficiency by over 65%.

Developer John Croft had a dream to build his own home in the idyllic setting of the Cotswolds. It took a few years, a lot of patience, research, and work to make this home the best it could be. At 16,000 square feet (1,500 square meters), with a third of its structure underground, Moonstone meets a zero carbon footprint – an incredible accomplishment considering the house is 21 times larger than the average UK home. The house literally needs no energy as it was designed to meet, or exceed, the very highest environmental standards, while providing a beautiful and practical family home.

More after the break.

In 2010, Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) held a design competition for a flexible solution to replace portable buildings across the district, and HMC Architects accepted the challenge. The district asked them to ignore their standards and put an emphasis on an ideas-based approach. They wanted creative, progressive responses to their problem, not dressed-up modular buildings. They challenged the traditional box shape of the classroom by looking at how the room is used and how it is currently under utilized. Although their design solution, which they named Flex, did not win the competition, their end product is a portable classroom solution that can be used at any school, with hope that their design can inspire other school districts to think differently when it comes to portable classrooms. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Architects: BROISSINarchitetcs Location: Coyoacán, Mexico Design Team: Gerardo Broissin, David Suarez, Alejandro Rocha, Enrique Guillen Collaborators: Rodrigo Jiménez, Mauricio Cristóbal, Ruben Zepeda, Luis Muñoz, Erik Guzman, Jose Luis Durán Sara Villanueva, Juan Carlos González, Elizabeth Salinas, Juan Manuel Vargas, Pamela Moreno General contractor: R+A. Coordinación Acoustics: Saad Acústica Scructural engeneer: Ing. Armando Serralde. Ing. Nabor Castillo Landscaping: a10Studio + Entorno Taller de Paisaje Lighting design: Satélite Iluminación Civil works: Macinter Images: BROISSINarchitetcs