This week a groundbreaking ceremony was held for Tainan Axis, a project by MVRDV, and local architects The Urbanist Collaborative and LLJ Architects that is set to offer the Taiwanese city a revitalized plaza and green corridor. William Lai, the Mayor of Tainan, joined the Urban Development Bureau of Tainan City and the local architects to mark the beginning of construction.
Lendager Group have released drawings and renderings of Stedsans in the Woods, a farming development currently in progress in the deep Swedish wilderness. A collaboration with restaurant owners Mette Helbæk and Flemming Hansen, the project will feature a permaculture farm, restaurant, and lodging. A focus on sustainability and living off the landscape drives both the architecture and the Stedsans brand, who stress the idea of ‘giving more than we take.’ Located in Bohult, Sweden, the development offers visitors an escape from the city with opportunities for fresh dining and connecting with nature.
In their latest press release, elevator manufacturer ThyssenKrupp announced new information about their cable-free system that rethinks the movement of the 1853 invention. Allowing for both horizontal and vertical transportation, “MULTI” has the capacity to innovate tall building design through its elimination of architectural constraints such as vertical alignment and elevator shaft dimensions. First unveiled as a concept in 2014, MULTI reported this month that the elevator has been installed into a test building and is soon to be implemented publicly into new developments.
Echelon Seaport, a mixed-used development designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) and CBT Architects, will join the growing number of buildings and public spaces slated to revitalize the Boston Seaport neighborhood in the coming decade. The 1.3 million square foot property will accompany projects such as OMA’s 88 Seaport and developments by James Corner Field Operations, Sasaki, and NADAAA.
As part of the Third Istanbul Biennial, NOHlab and architect Buşra Tunç collaborated with HAS Architects to create OCULUS: an experiential light and sound-based installation. The exhibit focuses on employing a historic location, the Single-Dome Hall of the historic Istanbul Imperial Arsenal, to reinterpret a spatial moment using technology and design. The central theme of the project is the experimentation of permanence, illustrated in the juxtaposition between the dynamic visuals displayed on the temporary structure and the 16th-century architecture.
Immortalized through photographs, drawings, and stories, buildings that have been demolished or completely renovated exist in the realm known as “lost architecture.” Either for economic or aesthetic reasons, the old gets torn down for the new, often to the disdain of community members and architects. But demolished buildings tell a story about the ever-changing politics of preservation—and often, they tell it far better than buildings that were actually preserved ever could. As the architectural landscape continues to change around us, it is important to recognize our past, even if its traces have been eliminated from the physical world.
As part of the second Bamboo Biennale held in October 2016, the city of Solo in Central Java received a public Bamboo Bridge courtesy of Indonesian Architects Without Borders (ASF-ID). Connecting the Pasar Gede market and colonial Dutch Vastenburg Fort, the 18-meter bamboo structure offers a revitalization of river life in the historic Indonesian city. Spanning across the Kali Pepe river, residents of Java can traverse the pedestrian bridge on its track that varies in width from 1.8 to 2.3 meters.
From wonderment to disgust, the opening of Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1959 was met with a wide range of reactions from the public. This profound cultural moment was distilled in a series of witty cartoons published in the New Yorker that simultaneously lampooned both the innovative architecture and its critics, which were recently shared in a blog post by the Guggenheim Museum. Through detailed sketches, cartoonist Alan Dunn represents the experience of the building, from staring into the exterior porthole windows to walking around the grand ramp. In one drawing he depicts the perspective from the first floor looking up at the dome, giving a sweeping sense of the curvature and geometries of the building.
In a recent blog post from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, curator Ashley Mendelsohn explores unrealized design details from Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic design in New York City, based on blueprints and drawings from the museum’s archives. From large-scale questions of form to material choices, the 16-year period between the commission and the completion of the museum saw many design iterations. Most notable of these are the circulation paths drawn by Wright in the 1953 blueprints that include a steeper circular ramp—in addition to the "Grand Ramp"—that would allow for expedited access to the floors. Though replaced later with a triangular staircase, the "Quick Ramp" demonstrates Wright’s exploration of overlapping geometries.
After a study of Madrid’s exuberantly geometric architecture, Digital Designer and Creative Director Joel Filipe continues his formal exploration in a series of photos of the MAAT by AL_A that celebrates the delicate impression of its undulating white tile facade against the bright Lisbon sky. Situated on the Tagus River, architect Amanda Levete creates a reunion between the river and the city with MAAT’s walkable rooftop terrace that draws visitors from the nearby streets of Belem, and with the promenade which steps down to meet the water. The roof provides a gathering space during the day and a place to screen films at night. The low-lying gentle arch of the building allows for a clever play of shadows and light, along with a nod to rippling water.
In a video by Studio Banana, Copenhagen-based BIG's founder Bjarke Ingels speaks to the firm’s design ethos and development. Known for their experimentation with bold and playful forms, the firm has produced some of the most recognizable works of the last decade including the 8 House complex in Denmark and Via 57 West in New York. In the video, Ingels points to communication as the key to success in the field, calling its power analogous to an artist's hammer and chisel. He also draws comparison to Darwinian concepts of evolution, noting that BIG's migration of ideas and iterative design development reflects a similar selection process. He applies this notion, along with another important principle to the firm--sustainability, to discuss works such as their Danish Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Design Expo that examines sustainability and experiential architecture.
