Designed for a marine based company, the design by ACID (Advanced Construction Information Development Co., Ltd) + AaL (Advance Architecture Lab) + Studio méta- creates an iconic architectural representation of their day to day business. The architects were interested in a frozen expression of twisting water and the idea of this movement with relation to the core business of their client. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The Gwangju Swarms installation by NADAAA was designed as part of the Urban Folly Exhibit, 2011 Gwangju Design Biennale. The installation site is characterized by a road crossing with a diverse set of scales and building types that anchor each corner, a site in transition. Inhabiting this corner, the installation is chameleonic; encrytped within the logic of the branches, a seemingly animated structure floats overhead, peeking around the corners giving body to the space that was once occupied by the city wall. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The hotel concept for the five-star hotel in Tianjin, China incorporates the traditional hotel amenities such as conference rooms, restaurants, and fitness areas with a vibrant gallery for art and changing exhibitions showcasing local and international artists. Designed by HAO/Holm Architecture Office, the building orients the building mass to create better views towards downtown Tianjin while curving back part of the volume to create a covered area for the hotel entrance and drop-off. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Spread across 1156 acres, the proposal for the Trans Ganga Masterplan by Studio Symbiosis is envisioned as an iconic city on the banks of Ganga, aimed at being a self sufficient sustainable city. Developed as a mixed use project, this will provide the most influential and dominant context for the master plan. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Both Robert Greenstreet, Intl. Assoc. AIA, and John D. Anderson, FAIA, have won prestigious AIA award. The Board of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) named Robert Greenstreet as 2013 recipient of the Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education. In addition, the AIA Board of Directors elected John D. Anderson as the 2013 recipient of the Edward C. Kemper Award in recognition of his many leadership roles within the AIA at the state and national levels. More information on their awards after the break.

FXFOWLE Architects shared with us their custom-design for the inaugural Miami Project art fair. Their installation, known as the ‘FXFOWLE Lounge’, features a free-standing architectural pavilion housed within a well-appointed lounge and bar area. The pavilion – which pairs technologically-sophisticated scripting software with simple museum board – comprises 180 varying segments that, together, take the form of complex structural geometries. More images and architects’ description after the break.

All are invited to participate in the challenge to create proposals for the public use of an overhead transmission line corridor (a.k.a. hydro corridor) in midtown Toronto. This design competition aims to demonstrate the potential of the particular hydro corridor site and also to foster a discussion on public use of other similar spaces in North American cities. The ideas will not be built, but they are meant to get the communities who live, study and work near the site to start thinking about its future. Submissions are due no later than February 4. Among the competition’s many organizers and sponsors are Workshop Architecture Inc., Davenport Neighborhood Association, Canada Council for the Arts, and Ontario Association of Architects. For more information about the competition, please visit their official website here.

With more than 25 years of AIA participation and holding many leadership roles, Mickey Jacob, FAIA, managing principal at Urban Studio Architects in Tampa, Florida since 1989, was inaugurated as the 89th president of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The announcement was made during ceremonies held on December 7th at the Ronald Regan Building and International Trade Center. He succeeds Jeff Potter, FAIA, in representing over 80,000 AIA members. A native of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, Jacob graduated from the University of Detroit in 1981 and began practicing in Tampa, Florida where he was licensed in 1986. More information after the break.

Team Shishka shared with us their 1st prize winning proposal in the International Art Residence Design Concept Competition in Nikola Lenivets, Russia. As stars in the cosmos, buildings and residences are spread on the site while connected with basic infrastructure. This system takes maximal advantage of the landscape, yet has minimal impact on nature. Within the flexible framework of plan, Nikola Lenivets can be experienced during every moment of the day, the whole year long. More images and the team’s description after the break.

Delicately crafted models by twelve students at Eindhoven University of Technologywill be the feature of an exhibit on Rudolf Olgiati called Die Sprache der Architektur (The Language of Architect). Oligiati was a Swiss Architect of the mid-20th century whose work has been attributed to the New Objectivist Movement. His work, which largely featured single family homes, brought a modernist aesthetic to the tradition of the mountainous Grisons of eastern Switzerland.

More on this exhibit after the break.

Designed by Torsten Ottesjö, with Christian Strömqvist and David Relan, Kloster is a strip of land on the west coast of Sweden where they have conceptualized an idea of luxury. Two houses are situated above a slope leading down to a dock and private beach, and are aligned to incorporate the ideal light conditions for the morning and Scandinavian evenings respectively. Aiming to provide a means of inspiration, the structure of the complex is the curling of a leaf – a single surface extended above itself. More images and architects’ description after the break.

For architects, Oslo has become a safe haven from Europe’s economic turmoil. According to an article by J.S. Marcus for The Wall Street Journal, dozens of new architectural projects currently under construction are not only changing the city’s humble skyline, putting the city on the cutting-edge of architectural design, but are also pulling in a base of buyers that are eager to call the city’s waterfront home (no wonder Norway was voted our work). And nowhere can Oslos’s transformation be better seen than in the new quarter of Operakvarteret, where a 20,000 square-meter, mixed use development project has brought various, innovative architects together to design a new face for Oslo.

More after the break.

Storefront for Art and Architecture, jointly with the New Museum and Architizer, recently launched the StreetFest Competition – IDEAS CITY 2013. As the world’s resources continue to be endangered, depleted, and destroyed, we all need to imagine new solutions and develop innovative approaches and practices. Created to explore the future city and to effect change, the biennial festival will take place in downtown New York from May 1-4, 2013 with the theme, ‘Untapped Capital’. On May 4, one winning entry will occupy a designated outdoor space along the Bowery near the New Museum. The deadline for submissions is February 9. To register and for more information, please visit here.

Taking place June 20-22, 2013 in Denver, General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.), former Secretary of State (2001 – 2005), joins Cameron Sinclair, co-founder and chief eternal optimist of Architects For Humanity, and Blake Mycoskie, founder and chief shoe giver of TOMS, as keynote speakers for the 2013 AIA National Convention,. The 2013 “Building Leaders” theme will give architects and design professionals opportunities to learn, share, and demonstrate the essential qualities that define leadership today. Registration opens in January. For more information, please visit here. More information on the keynote speakers after the break.

Helsinki, a city committed to finding the evolving nature of culture in an ever changing society, is the inspiration behind STL Architects’ proposal for the new Library. If a library is a container of culture with the mission of making knowledge available to the people, then Helsinki is one of the greatest libraries in the world. The new Helsinki Central Library is conceived as a reflection of its city, acting as a filter of cultural activity, and honoring the lifeblood of the Heart of Helsinki: its people. More images and architects’ description after the break.

International architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) recently announced that their design for the 120 million square foot master plan for Meixi Lake in Changsha, China is being realized. A new city in the West Changsha Pioneer Zone in Hunan Province, Meixi Lake is centered around a 3.85 kilometer‐long lake. Upon completion, the city will be home to 180,000 inhabitants, and will provide residents, workers and visitors sustainable neighborhoods for living, working, recreation, culture and entertainment. More images and architects’ press release after the break.

The first prize in the DesignByMany competition for the Bus Shelter challenge was recently awarded to Milos Todorovic for his AdaptByMany proposal. By adapting to local conditions, transferring aesthetic ideas to users, and putting functionality as its primary role, this proposal stood out. According to Glenn Katz, one of the DesignByMany judges and an AEC Education Specialist at Autodesk, the proposal was chosen for “its simplicity, providing a rich kit of parts and elements that can be combined in interesting and flexible ways to create any number forms responding to site conditions.” More images and Todorovic’s description after the break.

KSP Jürgen Engel Architekten was just awarded the first prize for their design of the Dual Tower for the High-Tech and Research Campus in Foshan, China. The 170-meter high dual tower denotes the start of the new business district in the south of the city, a prefecture-level city in the southern Chinese province Guangdong. Its exposed location, height, and function in the urban fabric as the first building on the Sino-German High-Tech and Research Campus means that the dual tower is conceived as a landmark. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Earlier this week, Architect Robert K. Levy optimistically declared that the study which will evaluate the federal law limiting Washington building heights is a “win-win” situation for everyone involved. Writing for The Washington Post, Levy states: “By conducting a detailed, comprehensive city-wide study, the D.C. Office of Planning and the NCPC will produce analyses and recommendations leading to a fine-grain, strategic plan for building heights across the District. Ultimately this study is a win-win proposition for all stakeholders.”

But can the situation really be so rosy? While Congress spends 10 months studying and debating the possibility of making alterations to the capital’s zoning policies, urbanists, planners and citizens have already begun weighing in on the matter – and opinions are decidedly divided. Many question the true motivations behind the possible changes, and whether those changes will truly improve the livability and sustainability of the city - or just alter it beyond recognition.

We’ve gathered both sides of the argument so you can make your own informed decision – after the break…

The Toni-Areal is a crucial part of the plan to breathe new life into Zürich West. The building was formerly a milk processing facility, and the new design by architecture firm EM2N features spaces for cultural events, as well as the Zürich University of the Arts and two departments of the Zürich University of Applied Sciences.

The Toni-Areal is one of the largest construction projects ever undertaken in Zürich and will be the largest construction site in Switzerland during its realization phase. The total usable floor space is 108,500 m2, of which the colleges comprise 84,500 m2. The remaining 23,500 m2 are dedicated to housing, cultural events, restaurants, and small retail shops, as well as parking and technology. The construction price—including basic upgrades and tenant upgrades—amounts to about 350 million Swiss francs.

The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL teamed up with Roca London Gallery to create the MArch Architecture Unit 22 end of year show – ‘Bartlett Architecture Dares to Care’, which is on display until December 18. Executed through the creation of Zoetropes, their study was focused on social and environmental sustainability, and the role architecture plays in preserving and empowering vulnerable communities. Each Zoetrope depicts the daily actions of an individual belonging to a vulnerable community. By designing for the everyday tasks, consideration is given to the role the built environment plays in protecting or helping them, rather than focusing purely on aesthetics. For more information, please visit here.