I am a Bucharest-based architect with a keen interest in the programmatic complexity of the contemporary built environment, and I am passionate about architecture that enhances social capital and the quality of life. I see architectural space as a potential catalyst for social interaction, and I am inspired by the possibility of enabling human connections through design.
This week's curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture highlights different competition-winning designs submitted by the ArchDaily Community. From large scale commercial developments to cultural interventions in historical urban fabrics, from adaptive reuse projects with an environmental focus to educational facilities, this article showcases a variety of design approaches, programs and scales. The proposals featured are the results of local and international competitions, either creative concepts or projects currently in progress.
The award-winning entries include a range of different projects designed by both young architects and established firms. An adaptive reuse project of a fire station in Singapore, the redevelopment of an industrial site in South Korea, a mixed-use project in China or a museum in Italy are a few of this week's highlights.
This week, the C40 global network of cities and engineering and sustainability firm Arup launched a virtual exhibition showcasing examples of climate initiatives and resiliency strategies from 11 cities committed to addressing climate change. Given that cities account for more than 70% of global carbon emissions, the Global Cities Climate Action Exhibition aims to highlight the role of cities in reaching climate targets through local policies and urban development plans, achieving tangible emission reductions and increasing social equity.
A new masterplan along the central Pailao River in Shenzhen proposes a climate-proof regeneration of the area, using nature and water retention ecological zones to mitigate the risk of flooding. Created by urban design and architecture practice VenhoevenCS, with landscape vision by Hope Design and water management plan by Huadong Engineering, the Pailao River Blueway Project capitalizes on the coexistence of the urban and the natural environment, ensuring resilience and enhancing the economic growth of the city district.
The Build Better Now virtual pavilion opened to the public during COP26, showcasing seventeen sustainable projects that demonstrate the built environment's opportunities for addressing the climate crisis. The initiative, run by UK Green Building Council, comes as a global call for climate action, highlighting the AEC's industry's commitment to sustainable practice on a worldwide stage, particularly since this year the COP26 dedicated a day to buildings and cities.
David Chipperfield Architects won the competition to redesign 1014 Fifth Avenue, a historic 1907 townhouse owned by the German government and used for cultural programming, into a space for meeting and dialogue. The project, titled "An Open House" and developed together with New York-based practices KARO Architects and Patarus Group, reorganizes the interior and creates the framework for cultural exchange while honouring the history of the building. Inspired by the interplay of public and private space within an ambassador's house, the project draws inspiration from the building's history as the home of the German Ambassador, with a design that balances public and private functions in establishing a new cultural institution.
The 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP 26) debuted yesterday in Glasgow, bringing together more than 190 world leaders, with the aim of accelerating action to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement and UN's Convention on Climate Change. Leading architecture organizations and figures are attending the two-week summit to show the AEC's industry's commitment to reduce carbon emissions and urge decision-makers to implement clear targets to achieve global climate goals.
Urban environments are in a constant process of social evolution, political and economic transformation. Attached to the idea of urban renewal is gentrification, a complex phenomenon circumscribing a variety of issues, from the improvement of the built environment and strengthening the local economy to displacement and demographic change. On the one hand, redevelopment means revitalizing neighbourhoods, improving the built environment and infrastructure and boosting the local economy, and on the other hand, gentrification drives up property prices and cost of living, forcing out low-income communities. Is the displacement of local communities a "collateral damage" of urban development? Does redevelopment intrinsically drive gentrification, and can urban environments be revitalized more ethically?
In this Editor's Talk edition, editors from Argentina, Lebanon, Brasil, Chile, Tanzania share their views on gentrification.
UNStudio has revealed the design for Project H1, a tech-assisted masterplan for a 10-minute neighbourhood in Seoul that would cater to the digital economy. The project transforms an industrial site and railyard into a dense mixed-use urban environment containing all the amenities of contemporary living within a 10-minute walk. This pedestrian-friendly, diverse neighbourhood is complemented by a digital infrastructure developed by UNSense, providing a framework for managing energy production and consumption, local food production, and the shared use of communal spaces.
The winning proposal for redesigning Thessaloniki’s ConfEx fairground features a series of pavilions with large overhanging roofs that float within a park, creating the infrastructure for international events while providing locals with a robust public space. Designed by Sauerbruch Hutton, together with Gustafson Porter + Bowman as landscape architects and Elena Stavropoulou, the project builds on the existing network of landmarks creating a new hybrid landscape that caters to the Northern Greek city’s goal of becoming the region’s primary business and tourist attraction.
The 15-minute city urban theory receives the 2021 Obel Prize in recognition of the concept's value for creating sustainable and people-centric urban environments. First coined in 2016 by Sorbonne professor Carlos Moreno, the term defines a highly flexible urban model that ensures all citizens can access daily needs within a 15-minute distance, thus breaking the hegemony of the car and reintroducing the qualities of historic cities within contemporary urban planning.
Designed by Warsaw-based architecture practice WXCA and Swiss studio Bellprat Partner, the Polish Pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai is a nod to the country's natural landscapes representing an essential part of Polish identity. Through a modular structure enveloped by a kinetic sculpture resembling a flock of birds, the project references the idea of mobility while showcasing the natural connection established by bird migration between Poland and UAE.
Nordic Office of Architecture won the interior design competition for the new Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport Terminal 3B in China with a concept that integrates experiential programmes and references the identity of the Chinese city. Created in collaboration with UDG, ADC and Lichtvision, the project aims to facilitate intuitive wayfinding while providing travellers with a series of interactive spaces and attractions along their journey.
LINK Arkitektur has revealed the design of a school that integrates the local climate conditions and challenges within the educational process. Located in Torslanda near Gothenburg, Sweden, where it rains every other day during the school year, the project uses water as a resource for both play and learning, taking a disruptive situation and turning it into an opportunity for understanding nature and the state of the environment.
The two Belgian practices BOGDAN & VAN BROECK and BC Architects & Studies are currently designing a care centre for drug users in Brussels, which would provide this vulnerable group with a safe and welcoming environment accessible 24/7. Featuring temporary residencies and community spaces, the building neighbouring the city’s port functions as a contemporary version of an inn, bringing a domestic character to an underwise sterile institutional program.
"Architecture encompassed my interest in reality and societal issues," says architect Dorte Mandrup, in an extensive conversation with Louisiana Channel, in which the founder and creative director of Dorte Mandrup Arkitekter reflects on formative years and the values of her architecture practice. Four years in the making, the film takes viewers on a journey through Dorte Mandrup's architecture, with compelling footage telling the story of designs such as the Ilulissat Icefjord Centre, Jaegersborg Water tower, or Ama'r Children's Culture House. Through the portrait film, the architect touches on numerous topics such as sustainability and climate change, the relationship of the built environment with the landscape, and as well as the profession itself and its present transformations and challenges.
For 10 days, Berlin's abandoned International Congress Centre (ICC) was transformed into a stage for performance, acrobatic and visual arts, films, concerts and talks during Berliner Festspiele's "The Sun Machine Is Coming Down" event. The 1970s futuristic building that remained closed for the last seven years provided the framework for a multi-layered experience, illustrating its potential for reactivation and adaptive reuse.
At the Dutch Design Week, a house created entirely from bio-based materials aims to illustrate that circular design is not only feasible but a scaleable construction method for the future. Featuring 100 types of sustainable materials, The Exploded View Beyond Building is a concrete example of the possibilities of creating a circular living environment, bringing together substantial research into high-quality components fit for disassembly and modular design.
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) awarded the 2021 Stephen Lawrence Prize to Tonkin Liu’s Water Tower, an adaptive reuse project which converts a disused industrial structure in the countryside into a residential space. The design has a strong attitude towards material recycling, retaining much of the original structure while creating adaptable interiors. The utilitarian aesthetic blends with a creative re-engineering of the project, showcasing an architectural approach in tune with contemporary sustainability values.
