As part of the 2012 cycle of competitions curated by Adrian Lahoud, Think Space is calling for entries in its Yokohama Port Terminal competition. Simply put, the Yokohama project actually started around the possibility of generating organization from a circulation pattern, which is basically a hybridization between a shed – a more or less undetermined container – and a ground, thus inventing a unique architectural/urban typology, one that would go on to influence a generation of architects. More images and information on the competition after the break.

Earlier this month, we featured a three part series that explored Urban Agriculture – how its design could change our relationship to food and potentially guide the way we plan and revitalize our cities. In the last article of the series “Towards an Urban Agri-puncture,” I proposed a way that design could make a social impact on cities as well: by creating community-oriented, productive landscapes where cities need them most.

Little did I know that a young Architect was way ahead of me.

Read More about About Dylan Kwok’s ingenious approach to Green Design, after the break…

Architect: UNStudio Landscape Architect: !Melk Landscape Architecture Location: Qingdao, China Client: Office of 2014 Qingdao World Horticultural Expo Executive Committee Building site: 35.000m2 Program: Main Expo Pavilion with integrated Landscape Design Status: Awarded Competition

For the International Horticultural Expo 2011 in Xi’an, we followed the design, construction and completion of Plasma Studio’s geometric design that extended from the grounds into the water. Currently, Qingdao, a major city in the Shandong province of Eastern China, is preparing for the 2014 Expo under the thematic notion “Let life walk into nature.” The event, which will be held from April through October, will feature three different pavilions (a theme pavilion, plant pavilion and garden culture center) and seven different themed areas that will display local horticulture and allow visitors to experience international gardens, such as displays from Europe, America and Oceania. The focal point of the Expo will be marked by a 28,000 m2 thematic pavilion designed by UNStudio and !Melk Landscape Architecture. The design focuses on the relationship between Science and Nature, using scientific achievement as a source of inspiration to “communicate the essential generative and structural principles of nature through architectural gesture,” explained the firm.

More about the pavilion after the break.

Based on natural light, open spaces and greenery such as peat, grass and flowers, the proposal by OOIIO Architecture for the Female Prison in Iceland dismisses the dark spaces, small cells and grey concrete walls typical of a traditional prison. The construction will be economical and efficient while not giving off the appearance of a typical penitentiary and increasing a sense of freedom. More images and architects’ description after the break.

BNKR Arquitectura designed a proposal for a 41 room student housing complex in a residential neighborhood in Cholula for the University of the Americas, which is currently growing and being absorbed into the urban area of Puebla, Mexico. The program is characterized as a dense agglomeration of cells with busy common areas that absorb student social life. More images and architects’ description after the break.

In their proposal for the Re-thinking Shanghai competition, Vinícius Philot, Fabiano Ravaglia, and Gibran Duarte aims at transforming the big metropolis through biological methamorphosis. In their “Let’s paint Shanghai with fireflies” design, they give thought to the question, How could we make Shanghai, an already trend setting city within Asian and global scenario, also a reference for urban sustainable growth? The firefly system will be a sub-effect of a new way of thinking the public space. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Cameron Michael captures the energy of the city with this time-lapse production. From the highline to the city skyline, this video makes you feel like you’ve just spent your entire Sunday walking through the streets of Manhattan. Although Michael admittedly “bent” a few laws while filming The Manhattan Project, this adventure seems to have been well worth the effort. Enjoy!

One week from today, Chicago-based architecture practice Bureau Spectacular will transforms The Architecture Foundation’s Project Space into an inhabitable installation and a graphic sequence of imaginary worlds, through the studio’s trademark mixture of built structure and cartoon. Founded by emerging architect Jimenez Lai in 2008, Bureau Spectacular is a studio of architectural affairs, who describe their strategy as one of making “absurd stories about fake realities that invite enticing possibilities”. Fascinated by the interplay between storytelling and building, absurdity and speculation, Bureau Spectacular weave architectural design and theory into comic strips that pop from the page into the real world as installations and small buildings.

Jimenez Lai: “This installation – Three Little Worlds – is a cartoonish blow up of a fragment inside the Cartoonish Metropolis. It is a comic book someone can walk into, a window into another reality.”

Continue after the break to learn more.

The second prize winning design proposal for the observatory on the top of Kelcsky Javornik takes advantage of its unique location in a hilly area located north of Zlin, Czech Republic. The landscape difference between the highland of Wallachia on one side and the flat land of Haná region on the other side was taken as the main principle of the design by Mimosa Architekti. The view is strictly directed to one side as visitors go up the structure giving the chance to view Haná‘s characteristic landscape on north or Wallachia on south. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Writhing Tower, designed by LYCS Architecture, is a sky condo for one of the most beautiful residential zones in Lima. The proposal is for a global architectural competition initiated by ARQUIA, an international development firm interested in commissioning architecture as art. Each unit is rotated 45 degrees to create a cruciform shape in plan and the appearance of a linear hinged volume. It enables each unit to have uninterrupted views to both the public park in front of the site, and the ocean to the rear of the site. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Designed by gmp Architekten, Warsaw’s National Stadium prevailed against international competition and won the World Stadium Award in the best multifunctional stadium design and most innovative use of technology categories in stadium design. On the occasion of the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, the stadium was reconstructed on top of the existing – but since 1988 no longer used and dilapidated – earth wall stadium (Stadion Dziesieciolecia), and re-opened in January of this year. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The school of architecture at IE University and TU Graz is putting on an intensive 8-day studio-based design workshop that will be held in Madrid, from July 6-13. This year’s program, titled “Emptiness: The Potentials of Vacancy”, will deal with the consequences and opportunities that derive from the gross overbuilding of the past decade. After years of construction-fueled euphoria, we are now confronted with the after-effects: a city riddled with empty masses, incomplete plans, and urban spaces hastily conceived and neither fully constructed nor consolidated. The moment is challenging and profoundly liberating; it is a crisis that demands creativity and gives us license to invent. For more information, please visit here.

AECOM recently shared with us their 4th annual Urban SOS student competition brief. Created to engage students in urban planning and design, architecture, landscape architecture, environmental restoration, and engineering and allow them to propose solutions for the issues that are confronting modern cities, and viewed by established professionals in their field. The theme for this current year is Frontiers. AECOM is seeking proposals that engage urban sites that are currently facing chronic liveability challenges that are largely the result of a city’s location on a natural, political, cultural or economic border. Submitted proposals should fall under at least one of the following criteria; “On a political border,” Ports and trade,” Migration and population shift,” Transnational destinations,” and “Shifting geo-political conditions.” The winners have the potential for their project to be engaged by a local organization to assist in advancing the project.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and 10 other groups have sent a letter to Congressional leaders warning that cuts to the Architect of the Capitol (AOC)’s budget could lead to further deterioration of the U.S. Capitol and wind up costing taxpayers more in the long run.

“There is little disagreement that the federal government, including Congress, must live within its means and be judicious in its consideration of short and long term expenditures,” the letter states. “However, the AOC’s FY2013 budget is focused primarily on needed maintenance and repair projects that are designed to keep the buildings of the Capitol complex – some of them nearly two centuries old – in proper working order.”

Continue reading for more.

The Shaktar Donetsk 50,000-seater stadium, the Donbass Arena, designed by Arup, will play host to the opening game in Group D between France and England, as well as several other matches, including the second semi-final. Arup, who played a key role in the design team that produced the €320 million Donbass Arena, will feature alongside the football talents of Ashley Young, Franck Ribery and the rest of the players at this year’s European Football Championships. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The Sancak Mosque, designed by Emre Arolat Architects, aims to address the fundamental issues of designing a mosque by distancing itself from the current architectural discussions based on form and focusing solely on the essence of religious space. Located in Buyuk Cekmece, a suburban neighborhood in the outskirts of Istanbul, the high walls surrounding the park on the upper courtyard of the mosque depict a clear boundary between the chaotic outer world and the serene atmosphere of the public park. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Taking place June 19th at 7pm at RIBA in London is the Do Architects Help? event which will examine the role that the UK built environment industry plays in overseas development. This London Festival of Architecture discussion, sponsored by Dunbar & Boardman, and put on by Article 25, emphasizes that in a world that is becoming increasingly urban and populous, architects and other built environment professionals are well placed to use their specialist knowledge and skills to influence development policy and help communities better prepare for and recover from disasters. Despite this their expertise is largely lacking for mainstream international development practice. For more information on the event, please visit here.

As reported on bdonline, Zaha Hadid is currently the preferred suitor for the London’s Design Museum. The Pritzker Prize winning architect has apparently wooed the sellers with her plans to turn the 1950s building into an architecture museum. She has reportedly teamed up with a private backer and is one of eight pursuers for the Design Museum, which will be relocating into a new home in 2014.

Continue after the break to learn more.

Courtesy of the Prelinger Archives, this archival 1930s footage by Bethlehem Steel captures every phase of construction of the Golden Gate Bridge. The iconic, San Francisco structure celebrated its 75th anniversary this year, as it opened May 27th, 1937. Including the approaches, the Golden Gate Bridge spans a remarkable length of 1.7 miles (8981ft or 2737m), making it the longest span in the world from its completion in 1937 until the Verrazano Narrows Bridge was built in New York in 1964. A unique aspect to the construction of the suspension bridge was the emphasis placed on safety. With the use of safety nets, hard hats and safety belts only eleven workers died during construction, which was a new safety record for the time.

The Ecole Spéciale d’Architecture in Paris, with the presence of Benjamin Ball and students from the 6th Semester Atelier 3x of the Ecole Speciale, inaugurated the 2012 Ball-Nouges studio ‘Pavillon Speciale’. This marks the 2nd edition of the summer architecture series that gives young emerging international architects the opportunity to build with students a temporary pavilion project in the heart of Paris. Curated and conceived by Matteo Cainer in the summer of 2010, the series is unique worldwide because it establishes a bridge between the architectural profession and academia, becoming therefore an integral part of the educational program of the school. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Few cities have embraced contemporary Architecture more – or better – than Copenhagen. Since the early 2000s, international architects, from Norman Foster to Daniel Liebskind to Zaha have all left their mark, yes, but Danish architects themselves can take much of the credit for Copenhagen’s forward-thinking design. Firms with short, hip names, like BIG and 3XN, are not just transforming Denmark – they’re on the cutting-edge of architecture itself.

Architecture photographer, Danica Kus, who recently shared with us her shots of the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, has also shared another series, “Copenhagen Inspires,” which captures Copenhagen’s many architectural gems – from The Crystal to the Green Lighthouse to Bella Sky Hotel.

See them, and more of her stunning images, after the break.

Tomorrow, June 16th, marks the official opening of Reiulf Ramstad Architects‘ National Tourist Route project. Back in 2004, the Norwegian firm placed first in an invited competition to design a viewing platform extending from the Trollstigen mountain plateau and an information center. After eight years spent designing and constructing the vision, an official opening will be hosted by Norway’s Transport and Communications Minister Magnhild Meltveit on the plateau. The national celebration also marks the 75th anniversary of the famous Trollstigvegen (the mountain was renamed as a marketing strategy years ago when tourism activity levels were rising). RRA’s Trollstigen project is just one stop along miles of the Norwegian natural landscape that will promote tourism by bringing people in closer contact with the country’s beautiful backdrop. The route, which runs between Geiranger and Trollstigen, provides rare driving experiences as people pass high mountains and deep fjords, with narrow ledges and small shorelines. By developing this stretch, more will be able to enjoy such an experience.

In the proposal for the Badel Block competition, WAU Design considered the site and its position as an opportunity to create a new center for the locals as well as a new entrance for the city through the ‘Communities of a Single Roof’ design. Considering the relative lack of public space and facilities in the neighborhood, they propose to extend the square and the market inside the Badel block and enlarge the space devoted to culture and leisure in order to strengthen the sense of community and centrality. More images and architects’ description after the break.