President Obama attended the official ground breaking ceremony of the National Museum for African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) on February 22, commemorating this milestone for the Smithsonian Institution’s new museum on Washington’s National Mall. The Tanzanian-born, London-based architect David Adjaye serves as Lead Designer for the Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup (FAB) team that was selected by the Smithsonian Institute back in 2009 in the international competition for the design of the nation’s new prestigious building.
The President began his brief remarks by stating, “As others have mentioned, this day has been a long time coming. The idea for a museum dedicated to African Americans was first put forward by black veterans of the Civil War. And years later, the call was picked up by members of the civil rights generation -– by men and women who knew how to fight for what was right and strive for what is just. This is their day. This is your day. It’s an honor to be here to see the fruit of your labor.”
Continue reading for more information on the project and a video of President Obama’s speech.
Construction on soma‘s “One Ocean” thematic pavilion is currently well underway and scheduled for completion in May 2012. Selected as the first prize winner of an open international competition in Yeosu, South Korea, the thematic pavilion was designed to embody the Expo’s theme “The Living Ocean and Coast” and transform it into a three-dimensional “multi-layered” architectural experience. The goal of the Expo is to portray the responsible use of natural materials, which has been embedded into the sustainable climate design and the biomimetic aspects of the facade of “One Ocean”.
In association with Jean-Baptiste Ferrari et Associes SA, gmp Architekten recently won the competition for a sports complex and urban re-design in Lausanne, Switzerland. The design manages to create an urban link between the diverse structure of the neighboring quarters, the new proposed residential quarter and the shores of Lake Geneva. Situated on a triangular lot, the site is defined in the south by the motorway and in the west and north by large arterial roads. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The Museum of Architecture and Design is proud to announce the international Call for Entries for the 23rd Biennial of Design – the international exhibition and BIO Design Awards competition. Through its selection of well-designed works and emphasis on quality, originality, and innovation, the exhibit presents current trends in contemporary design. The exhibited works are eligible to receive the Biennial’s awards for the best designs of the past two years.
The Europan 11 proposal for the science park in Ingolstadt, Germany received an honorable mention in the competition. Dominated by technology and science, the intent of YanKang Wang, ShuYan Wang, Yuan Lin, and JingRong Zhong is to create a fresh urban development concept for this city, which is based on the cooperation of industry and academia. Under the theme of innovative living and working, environmentally friendly technology and renewable energy will be applied by creating a new settlement model. However, in this way the city inhabitants will be initiated simultaneously how to live in a future way with the existing resources. More images and architects’ description after the break.
We are super excited about receiving the next magazine in the a+tstrategy series. The series as a whole “analyzes the strategies undertaken in the projects of urban landscaping in order to achieve the set objectives.” This issue specifically deals with Tactical Urbanism. The topic takes on how to address the conflict and fog created in many of the occupy protests, making the issue relevant to the larger discussion taking place among society all over the world. Many of the ideas trend toward an open-ended approach of what Rem Koolhaas might have called, “specific indeterminacy.” The common denominators of the eight collectives this issue covers are “the criticism of the consumerism present in modern society, the instigation of individual participation in collective and spontaneous projects to transform the city, non-recognition of intellectual property, the inclination towards libertarian and hedonistic projects, the struggle against alienating work and in particular merging daily activity, leisure and fun into one workload with the aim that each person might construct their own life differently and according to their desires and personal preferences.”
https://www.archdaily.com/208947/strategy-and-tactics-atAmber P
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat ( CTBUH) has launched The Skyscraper Center – a comprehensive resource for data and information on all buildings taller than 200 meters, whether they are completed or currently being developed. Detailed profiles and images reveal each towers global and regional size-ranking, as well as the projects latest updates and data. For example, recently completed Al Hamra Firdous Tower by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill ranks first in its city and national ranking, second in its regional ranking and is the thirteenth tallest building in the world.
“The new site builds on our database compiled through 40 years of research and adds valuable new functions, new information and extensive assets for both professionals and non-professionals exploring the world of skyscrapers,” said Timothy Johnson, chairman of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
LivingHomeshas just announced the launch of their first well-designed, affordable and sustainable prefabricated home known as C6. Starting at $179,000, the home is nearly half the cost of most other LivingHomes models and includes 34 tons of carbon offsets. It is the first to achieve LEED® Platinum and feature Cradle-to-Cradle inspired materials.
C6 was designed by the architects of LivingHomes in collaboration with Make It Right, a nonprofit founded by Brad Pitt and renowned architect William McDonough to build 150 Cradle to Cradle inspired LEED Platinum homes in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward. A portion of the proceeds from each C6 will help support the efforts of Make It Right. Continue reading for more.
In conjunction with our recent coverage of the Xi’an International Horticultural Expo, we would like to share Aidan Flaherty’s interview with Holger Kehne, co-principle of Plasma Studio and GroundLab. Plasma Studio, GroundLab and LAUR Studio worked together to win this international competition with a 37-hectare master plan for the International Horticultural Expo, a 5,000SM Exhibition Hall, a 4,000SM Greenhouse, and a 3,500SM Gate Building. The project initiated the re-development of a large area between the airport and the center of the ancient city of Xi’an – known as the home of the Terracotta Army of the Qin Dynasty.
The Expo opened in the spring of 2011 and welcomed more than 16 million visitors before it closed in the fall of 2011. The Expo park will remain as a new contemporary addition to the Xi’an region. The particularities of this legacy plan are currently underway. Holger Kehne discusses his firms’ unique design methodologies and multidisciplinary approach while working on this large-scale project. Read the interview after the break.
The strategy by FangCheng Architects for the affordable housing design in Shenzhen involves bringing the apartments outside the urban core. Their concept is to build as many affordable houses as possible in the urban center, which can decrease residents’ travelling time and increase usage and sharing of urban facilities. This strategy aims to improve social housing integration in the urban core which is done through building 6200 affordable housing units in the urban center. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) has clocked in at a positive 50.9 for January. Although the score brings the ABI into positive territories for the past three months, 50.9 is slightly over the positive measuring marker and actually, just under December’s mark of 51.0. Regional averages place the Midwest as the leading area with 53.7; followed by the South (51.6), Northeast (50.7), and West (45.6). AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA explained that even though the index is showing a similar upturn in design billings to the late 2010 and early 2011, firms are still having a hard time staying on their feet. “We still continue to hear about struggling firms and some continued uncertainly in the market, we expect that overall economic improvements in the design and construction sector to be modest in the coming months.”
The Emerging New York Architects Competition proposal, ‘The Greenhouse Transformer’, which received an honorable mention, is a typology for urban farming with the purpose of creating environments for learning year round within the community of West Harlem. PRAUD‘s main goal is to integrate life cycle components of food production into a building that is also a catalyst for activity in the area and allows visitors to engage in the program in a more efficient way. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Wolf House Productions and Gabriel Pascariu shared with us their first prize winning proposal in the ‘Dnieper Pearls’ international urban planning competition in Kiev. THE BLUE LINE aims at providing a sustainable development framework for the Kiev islands as well as an infrastructural backbone for the future urban development of the entire metropolis. Their design suggests a paradigm shift: from large scale urban and infrastructure projects (specific to Ukrainian urban planning) to a more fluid and efficient place-making driven urbanism. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Integrated within the overall residential development of SuZhou 133: Baitang One, the aim of the kindergarten design by CPG Advisory is to provide a high quality, inspiring environment for early age education in the new CBD of SuZhou, China. The design concept is based on the famous children classic: Jack and Beanstalk. By using vines, leaves and beans as the architectural and landscape design elements, a kindergarten associated with the “Magic World” in the story of Jack and Beanstalk is created. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The young architectural studio Urbanplunger was recently awarded third prize in the international competition to design a Night Club Hotel in the dense city of Hong Kong. Their proposal consists of a uniquely suspended building structure described as an “architectural parasite” that leans on neighboring buildings in order to elevate itself above ground. Read on for more.
ArchDaily previously ran an article about the Manufacturers Trust Company Bank Branch at 510 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and interior designer Eleanor H. Le Maire, a building designated as protected under the Landmarks Preservation Commission with first the exterior in 1997 and later the interior in early 2011. But as recently as October 2011, the building was already listed under the 2012 World Monuments Fund in the 2012 World Monuments Watch as the current owners, Vornado Realty Trust, began compromising the landmarked conditions of the interior of the building as it was being adapted for reuse. With preservationists in an uproar, support for the protection of the building was enough to bring Vornado Realty Trust to New York State Supreme Court where a settlement was reached.
Read on for more details on the settlement and continuing efforts to protect endangered monuments.
After two weeks and more than 30,000 nominations, we are proud to announce the finalists for the 2011 Building of the Year Award, a selection of the best projects made by our readers.
The shortlist for the awards includes 70 projects in 14 categories, a selection that shows the diversity of projects featured at ArchDaily during the past year. From small interiors to large scale buildings, designed by renowned practices and young architects, in different locations around the world.
I’d like to thank everyone who participated during the nominations round, as the finalists are outstanding.
You can vote for your favorite projects starting today and until March 6th at midnight EST (all the rules here):
During the process we worked very hard to log and flag every attempt to abuse the voting system, removing fake accounts and automated votes, and we wil continue to do so during this stage.
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has selected the internationally acclaimed Dutch architect Herman Hertzberger as the Royal Gold Medalist of 2012. Hertzberger established his firm Architectuurstudio HH in 1958 and since has made significant contributions to the world of modern architecture. He is not only an architect, but a teacher and published writer. Hertzberger has won a great many competitions, has been made an honorary member of several cultural bodies and has been awarded international architecture prizes, both for individual projects and for his oeuvre as a whole. Continue reading for more information on Hermam Hertzberger and the video above.
The at the University of Washington is a cross-disciplinary group from the College of Built Environments and the Department of Architecture. It’s directive is to explore and develop ideas “that will shape the future of design and information technology.”
Their research projects range from fabrication tools to new ways of rendering large-scale models. Amongst the most exciting is the SPOT tool. First of all, this tool is free, so anyone, anywhere in the world can use it. And because it was developed for architects, its features have the needs of architects in mind.
Map 13 shared with us their project, Infrastructural Archeaology. Landfills are areas of great potential which are but a mere evidence of the uncontrolled cosumerism of this extreme society. They understand that waste should be buried and isolated, and not be forgotten and abandoned. It is thus an open project, where the definite plan of its pieces is not the main interest, but rather the definition of its systems and their development in time. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Are you an avid lover of the High Line? If you’ve been keeping up with our coverage of the project byJames Corner Field Operations and DS+R, then you have been following the development of the High Line’s different sections – such as the early stages for a the design of the Gansevoort entrance and elevated street ampitheater of Stage One, and the picture frame and tree fly over of Stage Two. And, yet the amazing public space is still developing further. Friends of the High Line are presenting initial design concepts for the rail yards section of the High Line, which requires new zoning that would preserve the entire rail yards section, including the Spur, as public open space. At a community input meeting on Monday, March 12, the High Line design team will share their visions and answer questions about the soon-to-be newest part of the project.
More information about the meeting after the break.
The finalists of the international competition to transform the Carlsberg Brewhouse into an exciting, must-see Brand and Experience Center, was recently revealed. The competition sought to find proposals that would create a world-class attraction with a broad appeal to visitors who wish to be challenged, engaged and entertained by one of the world’s strongest brands. The main focus is on the transformation on the Brewhouse and the Elephant Gate but should also describe how Carlsberg Group can re-enforce, strengthen and further develop its presence in the Carlsberg site. More images and information on the finalists’ proposal after the break.
Launched just last week, the UrbanCollectiveModular Building Design Challenge 2012, open to all architects, engineers, designers and students – individually or in groups, challenges participants to design a contemporary modular home. throughout the world. The competition aims to further dialogue within the design community and build interest about prefabrication and modular design but also to create contemporary and affordable modular designs to aid in combating the widely discussed housing affordability crisis in Australia. Submissions close April 20th and the winner will be awarded $2,000.00USD in cash. For more information, please visit here.
