Photographer Christopher Barrett shared with us a video he shot at Gensler’s office in Chicago. Hope you enjoy it!

Axis Mundi … remember that firm? Back when controversy surrounded Jean Nouvel’s proposed tower for the MoMA’s expansion, the firm offered an alternative stacked design highly different from Nouvel’s metallic creation. It seems Axis Mundi is back for the shock value as the firm has just released images for their version of the new Whitney Museum of American Art. The current design, led by Renzo Piano, utilizes his characteristically light and technical aesthetics (check out his Shard which is under construction) to create an elegant addition critics have challenge may be too “timid” – Axis Mundi’s design is anything but. Their proposal incorporates a loud exoskeleton that not only seems completely out of scale, but also fights with its neighborhood for attention rather than settling into its context. The geometry, which has been shaped by the sight lines and street grid of the city, intends to reference Breuer’s Whitney on Madison Avenue. As The Architect’s Newspaper Blog noted, the proposal mentions nothing of cost – one of the biggest obstacles Piano is facing.

Check out more images of Axis Mundi’s proposal after the break.

The Austrian Exhibition at the Austria Pavilion for the Biennale di Venezia 2010 is designed and curated by Eric Owen Moss. More images after the break.

The aim of Slow Architecture Exhibition 2010 is not only to engage with architects but also with the wider public and thus the proposal is to exhibit the selected schemes within a specifically converted barge travelling slowly on the Grand Canal via various moorings including Belmont Mill and Tullamore and finishing in Dublin.

Jared Langevin shared with us his project Cross Cultivation. The project, designed along with Joshua Cummings and Gabriel Cuéllar was awarded 2nd place in the 2010 USGBC New York Natural Talent Design Competition (Emerging Professionals category). More images and architect’s description after the break.

Although the field of architecture continually changes with advances in technology and shifts in society and culture, there rest a few names that seem frozen in time, as their ideas will continually influence generations of architects to come. Of them, Louis Kahn has been revered as a master of the 20th century and soon, his memorial park design of the 1970s will finally be completed in New York. The memorial is named after FDR’s Four Freedoms speech from 1941 where he declares that “In the future days,….we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression–everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way–everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want–which, translated into universal terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants–everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear–which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor–anywhere in the world.”

More about Kahn’s design after the break.

Australian designer Esan Rahmani in collaboration with Mukul Damle have designed “Bamboo Pavillion”, a synthesis of sustainable ideas for a communal shelter for the disadvantaged around the Indian Ocean Rim.

Focusing on readily available materials in the region, the whole pavillion is designed to be made from bamboo. Bamboo’s extraordinary physical characteristics make is suitable for all types of structures including roofing, water pipes, drainage, flooring. This along with smart joinery means that there is little need for any other materials.

Come prepared, this will not be your usual fancy instructors opening up PSDs and improvising a presentation. These heavyweights of concept art and illustration will be on their toes, all willingly to provide the best educational, inspirational, motivational event possible to the participants! Students from around Europe and the globe now have the chance to surround themselves with the biggest learning force that has hit Europe yet, all eager to share their knowledge inside out abut Concept art for games and films for the next generations of artist. This is the opportunity for artists aspiring or working in the field to be exposed to dozens of years of experience both from this super lineup of instructor and from everyone attending.

Italian architect Andrea Morri shared with us his proposal in collaboration with Ing. Massimo Maioli for the OS House Competition. The project is an innovative and sustainable concept for housing in Ghana. More images and architect’s description after the break.

Update: We wrongly featured this entry as the winning design for this competition. The winning entry can be found here.

Various Architects, together with Kant Arkitekter and landscape architects Grindaker Landksapsarkitekter, shared their entry for a competition to design a new school for 1st – 7th grade students in Norway. Their proposal is an energy-efficient and space-effective building that integrates the school’s complex functional needs onto a suburban site. The compact design creates dynamic learning spaces for children, and from a sustainable standpoint, the design is set to achieve passivhaus standard due to its well insulated body.

More about their entry after the break.

South Africa-based Vivid Architects shared with us their project “Crystal Towers”. The development comprises a 5 star hotel, 90 luxury residences, a standalone office building, and a 80m steel suspension foot bridge. More images after the break.

Beirut-based Paul Kaloustian Architect shared with us his project S1 Villa, located in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. More images and architect’s description after the break.

C. F. Møller Architects placed first in a competition to design eighteen sustainable town houses for Norra Djurgaardsstaden, Stockholm. The town houses are part of a larger effort to convert the area of Norra Djurgaardsstaden into a completely high-profile environmental area. The architectural expression of the residences finds inspiration in the neighboring cultural center and Husarviken, which flows into the archipelago, and the Stockholm National City Park. According to C.F. Møller, “The project makes it possible to live a modern life based on sustainable solutions.”

More about the winning proposal after the break.

Manuelle Gautrand Architects shared their Enzo Hotel in Paris with us. The hotel’s strong triangular form holds different programmatic elements to engage its lively streetscape. The colorful façade took inspiration from the landscape’s natural palette. The colors add a crisp aesthetic to the building as the different panels and their varying tints add a sleek texture to the form. According to the architects, “Their fragmented bands give a kinetic effect to overall volume – one can see the movement of the cars there, a certain impression of speed.”

More images and more about the hotel after the break.

The upcoming 11 Architectural Festival Towns will take place between September 20 and October 3 in Corfu Island, Greece. It’s an open-air event, that gathers up to 500-700 young architects from Russia and abroad. The aim of every team is to create an architectural installation accordingly the common theme. For more information, go to the festival’s official website.

Spectacular wineries from Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Argentina! Check them all after the break.

Sattler Winery / Architects Collective The Erich Sattler Winery is located in the village of Tadten, a typical village in the Austrian wine region of Burgenland along the border to Hungary. The property is 12 x 120 m with two existing buildings and a new construction in between. Towards the centre of the village is an existing L-shaped residential building with a courtyard and public access for pedestrians. At the other end of the property in the direction of the vineyards is an existing manufacturing and storage facility with service entrance (read more…)

Italy-based NOVAE Architecture shared with us their project “0°01’ W Network in motion”, their proposal for a competition to design an adaptable floating gallery in London, UK. More images and architect’s description after the break.

Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) recently celebrated the grand opening of its most recent retail project, Palace 66. Designed by KPF, the Hang Lung Property by Hang Lung Properties Limited covers 1.2 million square feet, and lies in the heart of Shenyang’s vibrant commercial and cultural center in the Shenhe District of Zhongjie Lu.

More images and full press release after the break.

New York’s MoMA will be featuring a new exhibition that focuses on architects’ social responsibility. The exhibition, entitled Small Scale, Big Change: New Architectures of Social Engagement, which will open at the beginning of October and run through January, will showcase 11 projects on five continents that “respond to localized needs in under-served communities.” These pragmatic solutions demonstrate how architecture can serve the greater needs of society. From a handmade school in Bangladesh, to a cable car that connects a single hillside barrio in Caracas to the city, these realized projects are infused with passion and a strong drive to uplift society through architecture. “Together, these undertakings not only offer practical solutions to known needs, but also aim to have a broader effect on the communities in which they work, using design as a tool,” explained the MoMA.

A list of the projects that will be included in the exhibition after the break.

KieranTimberlake is the proud recipient of the 2010 Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award for Architecture. The National Design Awards honor outstanding contributions from the design world, including architecture, fashion, lifetime achievement, and sustainable design solutions.

Finally, we got to 25,000 photos on our Flickr pool. And they really keep getting better every time. In case you haven’t seen our previous selections, check them all right here. 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 clarkmaxwell in Chicago, USA. Check the other four after break.

Lost in Nature: The Architecture of Jarmund/Vigsnæs opens September 17 and runs through November 14, 2010. Contemporary Norwegian architecture is among the most vibrant in the world today, and this exhibition features a collection of work by the renowned Oslo-based architecture firm Jarmund/Vigsnæs (see their projects right here). Through photographs and models, the exhibition highlights architectural projects that focus on close relationships with Norwegian nature. Lost in Nature is supported in part by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Go back to grad school:

This thought was like a microscopic stroke. The M.Arch was the “go-back” and my PTSD symptoms get more acute whenever I get near institutions of higher learning.

Ride my bike across the country and write about it:

If I had a bike this might be a good one. The great escape. I had it all planned out. My wife and three year-old daughter would also come along. I could tow her in a little trailer. No need for training because we’d get in shape as we went—after all we are riding bikes. The things we’d see! Live off the grid! We could write a book about our adventures on the road, the crazy people we met, the kind citizens who would open their homes and kitchens to us. How our spirits were restored by the long journey. Then there would be the book tour. Film rights. Ewan McGregor would play me. Have to get steel-framed bikes so they could be welded at any roadside gas station. None of those fancy carbon fiber frames, light as they are, because I understand they can snap. The bikes would have to be very expensive and very cool—this is why I never go to bike shops with my credit cards. Maybe we could get a sponsorship deal, ride for some cause. See Architecture for Humanity entry, below.

1:1 es the exhibition space for the Romanian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. The project was designed by architects Romina Grillo, Ciprian Răşoiu, Liviu Vasiu, Matei Vlăsceanu and Tudor Vlăsceanu. Images and architect’s description after the break.