The works in Concrete Islands, by a selection of international contemporary artists, document, celebrate and critique architectural projects designed with inherent social and political values that now exist in various stages of inhabitation, dereliction and destruction.

Reality Cues has shared with us their unique idea for the handling of consumer waste and the physical possibilities they imagine stemming from this condition. Images of Excess Heights in addition to a brief narrative description after the jump.

Art, music, movies, etc… All part of our sixth selection of previously featured cultural centers. Check them all after the break.

Fogo Island Long Studio / Saunders Architecture Fogo Island lies outside of Newfoundland, Canada and is home to a gentle, independent people who have lived for centuries between wind and waves in pursuit of fish. Fogo Islanders live in the untamed landscape of the North Atlantic. The people are subtle and unpretentious yet have seen their traditional way of life by threatened by forces largely beyond their control (read more…)

The recent building boom in New York City has radically altered the look and feel of the city and added considerably to the list of starchitects currently reshaping New York’s iconic skyline. It has also helped redefine boundaries of the eclectic pluralism of postmodern architecture.

Designed by Team CLS, headed by award winning UK Architect Darren Chan, other members including Emily Lau (Architecture Graduate) and Jonas Sin (Netherlands Architect), their project, Helios Rehab Sanctuary, innovates in the application of sustainable technologies to create a new and exciting typology. More on this project after the break.

This month the Pratt Institute spring lecture series will include Robert Sanna, Guy Nordensen, Jose Koechlin and Denise Koechlin, and Pualo Portoghesi with Catherine Ingraham, covering topics that range from environmental disaster engineering to eco-tourism in Peru’s Machu Picchu.

They seek other geo-political border ‘hot spots’ in and out of the Political Equator that need to be interpreted and engaged. These geographies of conflict need to be understood through the radicalization of the existing in order to imagine new models of the possible. For more information please visit the competition’s official website.

JDS Architects together with KLAR, CREO ARKITEKTER A/S and Sloth-Møller engineers has presented us their latest project, the Faaborg Harbour Bath and Blue Bass in Faaborg, Denmark. This was the winning design among the invited entrants to the Faaborg compeition and the execution process is ongoing. Follow after the jump for a few additional images and a short project briefing.

Dominique Ghiggi, a landscape architect and academic assistant at the Institute of Landscape Architecture in Zurich, has published a book examining the changing relationship between man and nature over the course of history. The work is perfect for those connected with the environment as it examines tree nurseries scattered across the world and their social, economical and contextual significance.

More about the book after the break.

In 2002, the United States Department of Energy initiated the Solar Decathlon – an intense competition challenging collegiate teams to create residences that fuse the most sustainable technologies with functionality, comfort, and of course, aesthetics. Over the course of the past decade, interest in the Decathlon has grown dramatically [be sure to read our previous Solar Decathlon coverage] as the competition has piqued the interest of students from top universities, as well as millions of public followers learning the advantages of energy-efficient, cost-effective housing.

Team New Jersey, a collaborative effort between the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Rutgers University, has designed a handicap accessible net-zero energy prototype featuring low-maintenance concrete construction and the latest green technologies, complete with a striking beach-inspired aesthetic.

More about the residence, including a great video, after the break.

This weekend on April 2nd, Ben van Berkel of UNStudio will be presenting a lecture during the Smart Geometries 2011 Copenhagen – an event that focuses on the role of digital parametrics in architectural experimentation and design strategies. van Berkel, an avid believer in computational design, will focus on his firm’s projects, such as the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, the Raffles City mixed use development in Hangzhou and the Star Place Luxury Shopping Plaza in Kaohsiung, to illustrate their application of smart geometries. ”"Parametric design is in itself not so interesting. It needs meaning. We need to combine the possibilities of the virtual with how we discipline the real in a new way,” explains van Berkel. With digital modeling allowing for greater innovation, creativity and experimentation, van Berkel explains how such technologies improve communication on projects to such an extent that design and construction can be much more compact, accelerated and efficient. “In the 90s we were fascinated with the potential of these emerging techniques and their ability to control geometry. However our interest was never solely focussed on the geometry, nor on the computational techniques themselves. Our interest lay largely in the possibility to carry out spatial experiments and to see how the resulting structures could actually be constructed,” states van Berkel. For more information about the lecture, check out the Smart Geometries website.

The 2011 Douglas C. Allen Lecture series at COA continues its long list of impressive guest lecturers with George Hargreaves of Hargreaves Associates on April 6th.

We have now 40 Flickr round ups from our 44,000 photos Flickr Pool! 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 garmendia arquitectos in Cruces, Basque Country. Check the other four after the break.

Compensation is, let’s be blunt, a controversial and touchy subject in the architecture profession. It’s taboo to even bring it up. If you are working in architecture there’s a good chance you don’t even want to tell people how little you make because it’s just embarrassing. If you are an employer you don’t want to admit how little you pay your people because it looks bad and is equally embarrassing. So, let’s all be embarrassed together, employees and employers alike. After all, we are all in this together and we all depend on one another.

“What sort of salary range are you seeking?” This was an email a former colleague shared with me. After he sent them his resume and portfolio this is all they asked in reply. What is one supposed to do with a question like that? It used to be that firms would tell prospective employees what they were paying for certain positions. Now, they want you to tell them what you expect. They are banking on you telling them some ridiculously low amount, something way below what you might have been making before the recession.

More after the break.

Architects Andreas Fuhrimann and Gabrielle Hächler recently published a monograph detailing seven buildings and their design philosophy. It is easy to get caught up in the mesmerizing images of this book. With little more than plywood and concrete, they bring spaces to life in a way that few can. They demonstrate how “spatial quality is by no means merely an issue of the materials employed.” That being said, make sure you pull yourself away from the images as the text should not be missed. Besides their own contributions, other authors include, Kurt W. Forster, Marie Theres Stauffer, Gianni Jetzer, and Hubertus Adam.

More on the monograph after the break.

Gordon Murray Architects were commissioned by Forth Energy, a joint venture between Forth Ports Plc and SSE (Scottish Southern Energy) to develop conceptual design proposals for a series of new Biomass Renewable Energy Plants in Scotland at their ports of Dundee, Grangemouth, Rosyth and Leith in support of Section 36 Applications. The projects have an estimated combined construction value of over £1 billion.

Each project is developed through a clear exploration and understanding of the technological processes involved in the plant operation, by drawing inspiration from the physical and historical setting in which each plant is located, and through intensive research into historical precedent of the power station as building typology. This ensures every project has a unique design solution appropriate to its function and place. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Announced in Washington DC the ARC jury of internationally-respected professionals with expertise in design, ecology, and engineering selected entry ‘hypar-nature’ led by HNTB with Michael Van Valkenburgh & Associates as the winner of the ARC International Design Competition.

The ARC Wildlife Crossing Competition challenged interdisciplinary design teams to create the next generation of wildlife crossing structures for North America’s roadways. The four inter-related objectives for the competition included:

• Provide an avenue for international teams of design professionals to address new design challenges in the coalescent issues of road transportation safety, structural engineering, wildlife conservation and landscape ecology;
• Explore creative new approaches, materials, and designs that address the fundamentals of transportation engineering and ecology;
• Increase the number of potential solutions for cost efficient, innovative crossing designs that can be adapted for widespread use in other locations; and,
• Engage design professionals and students in the interdisciplinary nature of road ecology with a real-time, in-situ application.

HNTB + MVVA Team Members: HNTB Engineering, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc. Landscape Architects PC, Applied Ecological Services Competition Timeline: September 2010 – January 2011 Renderings and Drawings: HNTB and Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc.

Austrian architects Coop Himmelb(l)au shared with us their winning scheme for ‘The New Parliamentary Complex of the Republic of Albania’. The building, located on a site area with approximately 28,000 m², is going to be the first project in Albania for the Viennese headquartered studio. More images and architect’s description after the break.

The “Random” project by za bor architects is a proposal for a typical housing block in Moscow, Russia for the A101: Urban Block Competition. The buildings forming a typical neighborhood can be united in various combinations – a significant number of variations can be created with the use of a limited quantity of blocks.

Read on for more information on this project.

Five great projects from 2010, including an amazing AD Classic on previously featured religious architecture. Check them all after the break.

Farewell Chapel / Arhitektura Krušec The location at the top of a small slope in the middle of the village cemetery is characterised by beautiful panoramic views of the surrounding landscape. The architectural composition of stone walls of varied elevation which enclose the farewell chapel is designed so that it disables views towards the existing cemetery and tombstones (read more…)

The New York Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects [NYCOBA]has planned a Portfolio + Resume review day for graduating college seniors and young professionals seeking feedback on their portfolio as well as some advice about the interview/job hunting process.

Network Reset: Rethinking the Chicago Emerald Necklace is an international competition organized by MAS Studio & Chicago Architectural Club that seeks to provide ideas and actions that can reactivate the Boulevard System of Chicago and rethink its potential role in the city.

Read on for winners and more on the competition.

We saw this incredible set of posters from iconic architects created by artist Andrea Gallo and felt the need to share them with you. They will be available for sale soon, so we look forward to buy one and decorate our office! Which one would you get? Check the posters of Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Louis Kahn, Alvar Aalto and Walter Gropius after the break.

April at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design will feature lectures from Mohsen Mostafavi, Sarah Whiting and Robert Somol as well as a book launch of Chinese Architecture and the Beaux-Arts featuring Tony Atkin. These events are free and open to the public and PennDesign is a registered provider of continuing education programming for the American Institute of Architects.