Vedran Pedišić, Mladen Hofmann (SANGRAD architects), and Emil Špirić and Erick Velasco Farrera (AVP_arhitekti) shared with us their winning proposal for the New Zagreb Crafts Centre Competition in Croatia. The architects presented an introverted island organized around the central public communications and spaces.

See more images and architect’s description after the break.

The national cultural event, Imaginez Maintenant, features work of young multidisciplinary designers (all under the age of 30) in nine French cities. Finding inspiration in Gilles Clément’s description of “wandering plants phenomenon,” Nicolas Dorval-Bory and Raphaël Bétillon’s selected project creates an experimental journey, inviting visitors to explore an unlikely landscape. Open from July 1st through the 4th, the project consists of an artificial cloud, a long greenhouse and thousand of seedlings which will rest on the banks of the Garonne, next to the Hospital of La Grave.

More about the installation after the break.

As part of arc en rêve’s long-term ambition, this event aims to call attention to a young European agency that considers architectural projects in an incisive, innovative way that does not exclude a sense of humour. With projects such as the Copenhagen Harbour Baths (2003), the Ørestad residences (2008) built on a gigantic sloping slab resembling an urban mountain, and a bike track spiralling through the Danish pavilion at Expo Shanghai (2010), BIG’s completed projects offer profound architectural experiences at a far remove from minimalism, political correctness and digital formalism.

We have seen a growing interest in parametric design as it offers a new approach to architecture based on advanced computational design techniques. As parametricism becomes a tool more designers are turning toward, is this method beginning to define the style of our time? In an effort to identify our architectural style to allow it to be recognized, Patrik Schumacher, a partner at Zaha Hadid, has communicated his beliefs in his Parametricist Manifesto. “As a style, parametricism is marked by its aims, ambitions, methodological principles, and evaluative criteria, as well as by its characteristic formal repertoire.”

More about the manifesto after the break.

We’re happy to share Google’s launch of the newest Google Earth Pro 5.2. Lots of people in the profession use Google Earth for site work, bringing “geographic data to life”, and now, the latest version will make it easier to find and access the data. With three new productivity-enhancing layers, 5.2 will include demographic and parcel data in addition to daily traffic counts. Information regarding 2010 and projected 2015 income, age, education will be available at the state, county, tract, and block group level. Everything from use codes, and zoning data to even the sales history and average number of cars that have passed through an intersection will be link from each parcel selection. We are excited for this new version and to work with the new levels of information it provides.

Infamously known for their work with shipping containers (be sure to check out their Puma City previously featured on AD), American-firm LOT -EK has nearly completed the APAP Open School, in Korea. The containers are perched atop each other creating spaces beneath them for a public amphitheater, within them for educational functions and even on top of them for a long decked roof offering great views.

More images and more about the school after the break.

Jurors will be looking not only for beautiful, compelling designs that meet the needs of both people and wildlife but also the use of materials that make infrastructure more affordable and, ultimately, our roads safer from wildlife-vehicle collisions. Expressions of Interest are due in hard copy by 4pm (Mountain Daylight Time) July 30, 2010. For complete information visit the competition’s official website. Seen at Bustler.

This month everything seems to be World Cup-related. We didn’t want to be left behind so we had a look at our best projects from South Africa. Check them all after the break!

Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre / Peter Rich Architects Last year, architectural photographer Iwan Baan took a trip to South Africa to visit the Mapungubwe Interpretation Center designed by Peter Rich Architects. Mapungubwe, located on South Africa’s northern border with Botswana and Zimbabwe, prospered between 1200 and 1300 AD by being one of the first places that produced gold, but after its fall it remained uninhabited for over 700 years, until it’s discovery in 1933 (read more…)

Everyone is invited to join the Festival community, to develop projects to take part in debates; to investigate ways that London can be made a better place to live, work and play; to explore the city through guided walks and bike rides and to examine change in the capital in a celebratory way.

Dutch NL Architects’ newest bridge is part of their proposal to connect Hong Kong with the mainland of China. The bridge’s dynamic twisted form is a great resolution to the differences in driving styles, namely that in Hong Kong, people drive on the left side of the road and in the mainland China, they drive on the right side.

As the FIFA World Cup kicks off, Architecture for Humanity in partnership with streetfootballworld, honors the architects, designers and building professionals across Africa who have helped design sustainable Football for Hope Centres as part of the Football for Hope movement.

SOM is in the process of retrofitting their 1958 Inland Steel Building to meet modern sustainability and landmark restoration goals. The idea for the upgrade, although headed by SOM, was actually conceived in 2007 when, non other than Frank Gehry and New York real estate player Richard Cohen purchased the 19-story, 232,450-square-foot property for approximately $57 million, and set out to transform the aging structure into Class A space.

We love listening to TED talks as the speakers offer fresh perspectives and challenge us with thought provoking ideas. Today, we share David Byrne’s talk about music and architecture. Byrne chronologically moves through different architectural periods, noting the difference musical composition experiences as the years progress. For instance, the airy and flowing music that filled cathedrals became more textural with frequent changes in key as the size and shape shifted to become something like Carnegie Hall.

More about Byrne after the break.

Earlier this year we featured Herzog & de Meuron’s VitraHaus in Weil am Rhein, Germany. Now, we share with you this amazing video by Pedro Kok, a brazilian architectural photographer whose incredible photos can be seen in our Flickr pool.

Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter, whose National Tourist Route was a finalist for the 2009 Building of the Year Awards, has recently been awarded first prize for an invited competition to design a mountaineering center. Situated in Norway, the center possesses an expressive geometry that is an artificial interpretation of the site’s mountainous backdrop. Covered in a uniform surface, the angularity of the form breaks the large mass into a more contextual and scalable entity. The design intends to give the “existing house a special character that conveys the content with a unique and existing expression” giving the center of Åndalsnes a “one of a kind building.”

More images after the break.

MINE THE GAP, a single-stage international design ideas competition dedicated to examining one of the most visible scars left after the collapse of the real estate market in Chicago: the massive hole along the Lake Michigan remaining from the cancellation of Calatrava’s Spiral Tower, have recently announced it’s winners. See them after the break.

It starts with one can. To feed the hungry. To lift the spirit. To change the world. Canstruction, an event committed to ending hunger, is using ‘one can’ as a catalyst for change.

Just in time for the summer, Visiondivison‘s new pre-fab housing series is geared toward accommodating summer time guests in a flexible, yet compact space. Pyramidal in shape, the house features a playful facade that is climbable, affording each guest his own entrance hatch that can be reached from the outside.

More images and more about the houses after the break.

Vilalta Studio shared with us their Alpha Project, which won an international competition for a mixed-used development in Doha, Qatar.

More images and architect’s description after the break.

Using their award-winning campus master plan as a guide, the new international school in Baton Rouge, LA designed by Trahan Architects has just entered into the schematic design phase. The facility will be comprised of a gymnasium, stage, classrooms and an administrative suite. After interviewing Trey Trahan and being introduced to several of his projects, it is evident that the firm’s emphasis on understanding the context, in terms of both built form and culture, continually provides the backbone for their design process.

A few weeks ago, we shared our opinion on the benefits of the open architecture competition. Whether you believe entering competitions degrades architects because ideas are shared without monetary compensation, or whether you find that competitions inspire your creative edge, how about this scenario: a competition canceled one day after the submission deadline.

More about the canceled competition after the break.

Since its beginnings, photography quickly became the principal architectural media tool. Now, with all the possibilities given by the new technology, specially new media, it seemed that video was supposed to be the natural evolution. However, only a few have been able to evolve from a fixed frame into a video proposal that can transmit the qualities of a building in motion, with most being just a slideshow with background music or a collage of different shots, which can’t tell more than a fixed photo.

Design the room or space of your dreams—for a chance to win $2,000 to make that dream space come true. Join them in helping to make spaces more accessible to people living with autism! More information at the competition’s official website. Seen at Bustler.

The first Czech private school of architecture, Architectural Institute in Prague (ARCHIP), opens its doors in Veletržní palác. It is currently accepting applications from prospective local and international students for its baccalaureate study programme in Architecture, with instruction in English. Tuition starts in autumn 2010; the applications can be filed online, at the school’s website and the application deadline is 21 June. For more information, click here.