Filipe Magalhaes and Ana Luisa Soares shared with us their first prize winning proposal in the open ideas competition organized by Origami Competitions. The competition focused on an empty plot in Oporto, Portugal, where they were asked to develop a fresh and contemporary residential proposal that could be spread through the city. ‘Polikatoikea’ does just that in seeking a compromise between a greek rule (polikatoika) and a swedish philosophy (ikea). More images and architects’ description after the break.

The proposal for the international competition for a cyclone shelter in Bangladesh by Lindsay Bremner and Jeremy Voorhees is conceptualized as a boat-building, referencing two local typologies – the boat and the landing ghat. Located in Ranggabali, a small village in the Patuakhali Province, the building is half submerged in water in times of cyclone flooding while beached against a concrete ghat in dry seasons. Sheltering its occupants in the liminal zone between land and water, it makes place by transitioning from depth and section to surface and plan. More images and architects’ descriptions after the break.

ArchDaily’s Flickr Pool has now over 68,000 photos, and this week’s Round Up has 5 great selections including a wonderful photo of Mies van der Rohe’s Neue National Gallery. As always, remember you can submit your own photo here, and don’t forget to follow us through Twitter and our Facebook Fan Page to find many more features.

The photo above was taken by Piotr Krajewski in Hamburg, Germany. Check the other four after the break.

This video reveals the first statement by director David Chipperfield and president Paolo Baratta regarding the 13th International Venice Biennale. With “Common Ground” as the underlying theme, Chipperfield encourages participants not to promote themselves, as if in a theater, but rather promote a dialogue that will begin the “chemical process” that will ultimately lead to finding connections between “things, people and influences”. Chipperfield highlights that the Venice Biennale is about “what is not private, but what is common.”

Barcelona designer Martín Azúa questions the idea of the private home with the Basic House – an inhabitable volume that is “foldable, inflatable and reversible”. The experimental prototype challenges the idea of homeownership, offering an alternative to the materialistic reality of today. Made from metalized polyester, the Basic House is a shelter small enough to fit in your pocket, allowing you to break away from the imprisonment of material ties.

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Century City Development Corporation, a subsidiary of Century Properties Group Inc. focused on mixed-use developments with high-rise condominiums, recently revealed their architectural design for the Trump Tower in Manila, Philippines. The tower is going to be prominent on the Manila skyline for years to come. It’s a beautiful glass building – very architecturally significant with an incredible spire. Its architecture will be truly iconic. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Kouvo & Partanen was recently announced as the winners of design competition for the Alma Hotel Residence in the Atacama Observatory and Research Center in the desert of northern Chile. The aim of the competition was to find the best solution on a fixed design fee and construction price for the building that offers the astronomers, engineers, and other staff working at the observatory accommodation, restaurant and office services and recreational spaces. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Between 22 July – 05 August 2012, the architects group Krokodil (EM2N, pool, Roger Boltshauser, Frank Zierau, Schweingruber Zulauf) and the Department of Architecture of the ETH Zurich (D-ARCH) will jointly run the International Summer Academy 2012 in Zurich with the title “From Suburb to City”.

Passive House Bulgaria recently launched an International Design Competition for a Passive House near Sofia, Bulgaria. The main goal with this competition is to challenge the architectural community to design a schematic design proposal for an affordable, low energy, single-family houses, to focus the public attention to this new type of energy efficient buildings, and to promote the design and construction of Passive Houses in Bulgaria. Registration is open until the competition deadline on on March 16. For more information, please visit here.

Open to citizens of the Republic of Slovenia or other EU member states and/or competitors who have a place of business in either, the competition of a solution for the National and University Library NUK II must reflect the period of construction and thus express the autonomy of architecture without attempting to exceed the spatial context by design and dimensions.

The Graham Foundation in Chicago, Illinois is hosting an exhibition of the works of architect Stanley Tigerman from January 26, 2012 – May 19, 2012. Tigerman, a Chicago native and principal of Tigerman McCurry, undertook more than 400 projects, resulting in 175 built works. As an active member of the local Chicago architectural community, he was a founding member of The Chicago Seven, director of the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago (1985-1993), and co-founded the school ARCHEWORKS with Eva Maddox in 1994 – a progressive socially oriented design. More details after the break.

Spain-based ACXT have been featured in ArchDaily several times, and even won a Building of the Year Award for their BTEK – Technology Interpretation Center back in 2010. Here’s our selection of five great projects from ACXT. Enjoy them all after the break.

BTEK – Technology Interpretation Center BTEK is an interpretation centre for new technologies, aimed at student visitors. The site’s location, on one of the highest points of the Vizcaya Technology Park and close to the Bilbao airport’s flight path for takeoffs and landings, helps with the aim of making the building a landmark in its landscape (read more…)

French photographer Franck Bohbot has shared with us a series of photographs based on the interiors of historical Parisian theaters. Bohbot strived to capture the cultural life of the architecture with the absence of people, paying homage to the empty theater. Naked, the photographs reveal a sense of grandeur and intimacy. Continue after the break for more images.

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The Louisiana State Museum and Sports Hall of Fame (LSMSHOF) celebrates two seemly disconnected subjects within one contemporary venue, combining North Louisiana’s profound history with its influential world of sports. Designed by Trahan Architects, in coordination with Method Design and CASE, the new $12.6 million venue will house donated memorabilia that embodies “the contributions of the diverse cultures that have shaped the state and are crucial to understanding the unique traditions and legacy of Louisiana and the Gulf South.” A complex design, generated with the help of BIM technology, reflects the disparate subjects in one fluid structure encased within a locally inspired facade.

Continue reading for more information and images.

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I, modernism, being of sound mind and having a firm understanding of what should be, do solemnly swear to ignore the needs of poor people and democrats.

I, modernism, will not knowingly or unintentionally promote the excessive ornamentation favored by the nostalgic and simple-minded.

I, modernism will remain pure, and separate, loosening my tie, only after a few drinks, or when feeling comfortable, or under the influence of a potential high-profile client.

HASSELL, an international design practice, was recently awarded for their entry in both categories of the international Public Realm competition for CERN in Geneva. The competition entry, which was produced by the London studio of HASSELL, was the sole UK based design practice to be recognized with an award. The open international competition, run by the Canton of Geneva, was launched in May 2011. More images and architects’ description after the break.

We recently came across a Kickstarter project headed by Chattanooga architect William Mullins for architecturally inspired ties. Appropriately called Architectie, the initial run of designs feature abstracted designs based on four classics of architecture; the Notre Dame du Haut by Le Corbusier, the Yale University Art Gallery by Louis Kahn, Tomba Brion by Carlo Scarpa and the Case Study house #8 by Charles and Ray Eames. Manufactured in the USA, the ties are the first in Mullins’ series, which he hopes to expand to include other lines of ties featuring abstracted designs of modern architectural icons. To see more of the ties visit his Kickstarter site here.

The U.S. Pavilion at the 13th Venice Architecture Biennale has announced their theme Spontaneous Interventions: Design Actions for the Common Good with the launch of a new website dedicated to share information about the exhibition as well as broaden the call for projects to be considered for inclusion. Organized by the Institute for Urban Design, Spontaneous Interventions will “examine the nascent movement of architects, designers, planners, artists and everyday community members initiating their own projects to bring positive change to the urban realm – from temporary architecture and crowd sourced urban planning to guerilla bike lanes and urban farms.” Those who have realized an intervention in a U.S. city, both tangible and digital, are encouraged to submit their projects by February 6 in order to be reviewed in time for the next curators’ meeting. Visit the Spontaneous Interventions website for more information.

It has been confirmed that Zaha Hadid is one of the architects shortlisted for the international competition to design a new, $1 billion Iraqi parliament complex in Baghdad. The full list has yet to be released, but as we have announced earlier, the London-based firm Assemblage has also been shortlisted. Located in the middle of the city, the new complex will be challenged with the remnants of a partially built super mosque planned by Saddam Hussein. Massive 50m reinforced concrete columns tower over the site, as construction was halted by the US-led invasion in 2003. Continue reading after the break for more.

Working in a large space, at work or at school, makes one extremely sensitive to the idea of microclimates. Whether there is a skylight or window that uncomfortably irradiates the immediately surrounding area, or if there is a thermostat that just can’t be set warm enough, everyone has experienced the discomfort of the unadjustable microclimate. It’s not unusual, though it might be a bit disturbing, to see a co-worker swathed in a blanket (I’m not making that up, unfortunately), or a foot-heater discreetly tucked under a desk. Or you might be one of the unlucky persons either stuck under the artful skylight or near a south-facing, floor-to-ceiling window. That’s because most office spaces are designed for a uniform, master-control HVAC system.

It’s important not to confuse the availability of different technologies with widespread, institutionalized use because to do so is to conflate two very different issues. So while this technology may have been around in bits and pieces, it has yet to be combined into comprehensive tools. And as for implementation, many in the architecture industry have experienced the resistance to both passive and advanced energy efficient technologies.

Interface Studio Architects shared with us their proposal for the Hong Kong Car Parc competition, which aims at romanticizing the car as an active urban object while simultaneously implementing sustainable strategies. In addition to including parking spaces in the rotational design, shopping, food and landscaping aspects are also included in the program. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Watch Thomas Leeser of LEESER Architecture share some insight into what architecture means and how his firm expresses that philosophy. One of our favorite lines is when Leeser stated, “We are not architects with a particular style; we are architects with a particular message.” The clip shares some background pertaining to Leeser’s Museum of Moving Image in Astoria, New York that exemplifies the firm’s idea of a changing continuous media surface and ties the conceptual understanding between film and architecture. What are your thoughts on Leeser’s closing comment when talking about the Bric media center and Urban Glass project – “Our work can influence and change the world around us, there is a really impact…it’s not just like another building” – perhaps, not just in terms of Leeser’s work, but for the field of architecture at large.

Grimshaw Architects recently announced that they have been selected by the All England Lawn Tennis Club to design their “Wimbledon 2020” masterplan for future development requirements. After a competitive selection process, it was decided that they will design the new masterplan to continue the previous ‘Long Term Plan’, which was commissioned in 1993 and completed in June 2011. Working with such a prestigious British and internationally renowned institution, Grimshaw will embrace Wimbledon’s unique history of tradition and innovation to enhance further its position as the pre-eminent tennis Grand Slam. Another image of their design can be viewed after the break.

JAJA Architects makes it to the top with their project proposal ”Sundbyen” in the competition for a new harbor front in Ålesund, Norway. ”Sundbyen” was a proposal amongst many in the open international competition that attracted proposals from 10 different countries. JAJA based their project in the Ålesund’s existing identity and closeness to water. The project enhances the city’s existing qualitites, interprets it and creates a natural coherence between place, history and future development. More images and project description after the break.