As part of their annual research for the World Architecture Top 100, Building Design (BD) has compiled a list of which architects are most admired by their colleagues from across the globe. Last year's results were somewhat predictable, with Foster + Partners leading and Renzo Piano's Building Workshop and Herzog + de Meuron close behind. According to BD, "this year saw a trend towards more commercial names."
This year's "most admired" list includes:
Crossrail, "the largest infrastructure project in Europe, costing more, for example, than the London Olympics", has been slowly winding it's way beneath London for years. Getting access to the labyrinthine collection of underground tunnels and volumes, Rowan Moore of The Observer says that - despite the superficial furore surrounding it - this £5 billion undertaking will eventually be worth it: alongside the tunnels and tracks will be three million square feet ("or about six Gherkins") of commercial development, and one million square feet of 'public realm'.
Pink Floyd, "considered to be one of the icons of revolutionary, progressive music," was adept at using "sonic experiments and philosophical lyrics to cross social boundaries and redefine values." The international design competition A House for Pink Floyd similarly aimed to translate that philosophy into a built architecture, the focus of which being on "creating any object of architecture that transcends rules and standardization and innovates through itself."
With no constraints to site, program or size Arqbauraum's entry, "based on man meeting with himself, and doing so through the senses," aims to "return to man a place for him to pulse with the world, a space that appealed to solidarity and to the strength of the use of words."
The design for a new stadium for Ruch Chorzów, one of Poland's largest football clubs, has been unveiled. The winning proposal, designed by GMT Mysłowice, will have a capacity for 12,000 seats and, although described as not being "the most impressive [design] overall," has been selected for its simple, clean form and "value for money." With ruch meaning 'movement' or 'motion' in Polish, the concept for the design has hinged around "giving passers-by a different perspective from every possible angle as they move along the stadium."
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London's Tate Britain, a partner gallery to the Tate Modern (who recently appointed Herzog & de Meuron to design a new extension), recently unveiled Caruso St. John's transformation of the oldest part of the iconic Grade II* listed Millbank building. The £45 million project to restore, renovate and reinterpret one of the UK's most important galleries has been met with a largely positive critical response; read the conclusions of The Financial Times’ Edwin Heathcote, The Guardian’s Oliver Wainwright, The Independent's Jay Merrick, the RIBA Journal's Hugh Pearman, and the Architects’ Journal’s Rory Olcayto, after the break…
The Subterranean Concrete Orgy by Toki Drobnjakovic and Per Sundberg (Per & Toki) is a reinvention of the "infamous" Blue Star building in Stockholm. The designers, looking for a new studio and office space for Studioverket, have collaborated with concrete producer Butong to realize a space of "homogenous diversity" by using a new type of concrete sealed air bubble casting. By incorporating new design features and in reinventing some of the existing, the basement space has been transformed from pornography shop to elegant studio defined by a series of unique interventions. See the changes after the break...
Danish practice Arkitema have won a prestigious competition to design a new visitor centre for Hammershus, a 13th century castle on the Danish coastline. The winning proposal demonstrates a "respect for the ancient monument and for the location", with "a discreet visitor centre of high architectural quality". The building is expected to serve around 500,000 visitors annually and will cost 45million DKK (approximately $8.2million). Find out more about the project after the break...
Alicja Borkowska and Iris Papadatou from you&me architects have been announced as the UK winners of the inaugural Old Doha Prize, a competition to redesign part of the old city of Doha in Qatar.
Four teams of architects have "worked intensively to develop contextual design responses to address the challenge of regenerating and maintaining the heritage of the city" as part of a British-Qatari collaborative project to "reimagine the urban landscape of old Doha." As a city defined by its strong heritage, coupled with ambitious plans for the future, the competition aimed to discover ways of regenerating parts of the city centre in a sustainable, yet vibrant, way.
Getting instantaneous, accurate structural dimensions in the early stages of the design process, or even when exploring the feasibility of a project, can often be challenging. In response to this, Vancouver-based structural engineering firm Fast + Epp have developed a new mobile application called Concept, a depth calculator which uses typical span-to-depth ratios for common steel, concrete and wood members to give you a quick overview of what dimensions a certain structural idea will require. In addition to this, the app also includes project photos to give users an idea of how certain materials will be expressed in built form.
Khao Mo, which translates as Mythical Escapism, is a reflective sculptural work by Sanitas Studio currently being exhibited at the Bangkok Art & Cultural Centre. The concept behind the work is based on city dwellers' desire for a moment of escape from everyday life, along with the concept of the Chinese garden: a scaled replicated universe expressed through nature in order to create a sense of tranquility. According to the artist, "the smell of earth, the moisture and vapour that evaporate from the earth, the ordinariness and the emptiness allow the audience time to imagine."
Dorte Mandrup Arkitekter has won a competition to design a landmark urban sculpture in Aarhus Harbour, a new district in Denmark's second largest city. The tower, shaped like a "sharp origami cut," is designed to "celebrating vision and social encounters at the edge of the water." Made of welded steel plates, the structure will be manufactured in a shipyard before being sailed to site.
Four designs for two large commercial towers in the heart of Sydney have been unveiled by Parramatta City Council, with proposals from Sydney based Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp, Johnson Pilton Walker, Bates Smart, and Italian practice Mario Cucinella Architects. Attracting over 73 submissions from around the world, the two towers will act as the centerpiece for the Parramatta Square's three-hectare site.
The shortlist is part of stages five and six of the total master plan, previous projects of which have been awarded to the likes of Grimshaw Architects. Review the projects and read the jury's comments after the break...
Councillor John Chedid, Lord Mayor of Sydney, described the the projects as "forward-thinking, innovative solutions," going on to say that "without question, this creative range of designs, submitted by many of the leading architecture firms across the world today, will help us meet our future business, cultural, entertainment and tourism needs, and signpost Parramatta in a distinctive, unique way."
The inaugural Dwell Vision Award, designed to "celebrate excellence in innovation and skill in the fields of architecture or interior design," has been awarded to New York based Amanda Schachter and Alexander Levi of SLO Architecture for "Harvest Dome 2.0". According to Dwell, "the gigantic Harvest Dome structure, made from recycled materials, captured the imagination of the judges by emphasizing the human connection to nature and New York’s waterways, often overlooked by the urban population."
ArchDaily recently got the chance to speak to Stephen Hodder, current President of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) at his practice in Manchester. Best known as the recipient of the inaugural RIBA Stirling Prize in 1996 (for the Centenary Building), Hodder was educated at the University of Manchester's School of Architecture, he's perhaps best known as the recipient of the inaugural RIBA Stirling Prize in 1996 for the Centenary Building and was awarded an MBE for services to architecture in 1998.
Having been officially in the role for only two months, Hodder spent some time with us discussing his hopes for the next two years. Find out why he described himself as a fan of Scandinavians and prog-rock after the break...
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Louis Paillard Architects' proposal for Marievik, a site south west of Sweden's capital, is an attempt to condense 65,000 square metres of housing, retail, restaurants and a school into just 12,000 square metres of available space through "six iconic objects." According to the architects, Stockholm is a city built "by public spaces, shared spaces, [and] parks and gardens", which led to their design "twisting itself around the void."
Following the announcement last month that the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) had shortlisted five designs for their new Global Centre for Social Sciences (GCSS) in London's Aldwych, they have now revealed that "there’s not one really outstanding scheme" and "there’s some further work to do by the practices and the LSE." Therefore contestants Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, OMA, Hopkins Architects, Grafton Architects, and Henegham Peng Architects must reconsider their proposed designs.
Following our readers poll last year, here's an updated list of what we think are the best ten apps for architects. From condensed versions of large scale programmes architects and designers use every day, to blank canvases to scratch ideas down onto, you might just find an app that could improve the way you work.
According to the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the number of people aged over 60 is expected to increase by 40% over the next twenty years, suggesting that "our post-retirement years will be longer and healthier." There is no doubt, therefore, that people in this age group will have a greater economic, social and political power - but how will this affect our cities?
