Under the direction of architect Dario Cottone, the young Italian firm recently won an international competition in the historical center of Caltanissetta, Sicily. Cottone’s project focuses on a red ribbon that aims to link the older historic parts of the 16,000 square meter site with the emerging contemporary areas.
Further project description and more images after the break.
Zaha Hadid announced her latest design, the Stone Towers, for the expanding district of Cairo, Egypt. Within the 525,000sqm towers, Hadid’s design provides office and retail spaces, a five-star business hotel with serviced apartments, and sunken landscaped gardens and plaza called the Delta.
Further project description after the break.
The Zuidkas, an experimental project commissioned by the Government Building Agency, challenges architects with an imaginary office building of over 11,000 square meters in Amsterdam that demands innovative solutions. The main objective of the Zuidkas project is to achieve the highest possible score with regard to the fulfillment of environmental objectives.
Architect Paul de Ruiter and his team focused on nine aspects of sustainability, ranging from carbon reduction to energy savings. With these elements in mind, de Ruiter created a kind of miniature city that works as one building.
More about de Ruiter’s design after the break.
A few months ago, the Graduate School of Architecture at Columbia University organized an open international design ideas competition. The competition, Imagining Recovery, which coincided with Obama’s first 100 days of presidency, asked participants to imagine what recovery could look like and supplement the maps, charts and graphs of Recovery.gov with images of lived experiences, as announced earlier on AD.
Submissions were received from 25 different countries and on May 13, the distinguished jury selected ten projects for recognition and of these, only three to be the prize winners.
Project winners after the break.
Visiondivision, an international young practice, shared with us their competition entry for a children’s hospital prototype for Rwanda. The competition, entitled “Design for the Children”, asks architects and designers to develop a sustainable, culturally responsive, pediatric clinic model for East Africa.
More images and further project description after the break.
Six projects were presented for the competition of a Grand Hyatt Hotel for Frankfurt, Germany. The jury’s chairperson, Johann Eisele, chose UNStudio’s proposal to proceed with further development. “All the proposals were of an exceptionally high standard. The award-winning design by UNStudio is particularly outstanding as it presents a type of high-rise which does not yet exist in this form in Frankfurt. The contribution by UNStudio demonstrates how harmony can be created between extensive functional demands and the high requirements of exterior and interior design,” commented Eisele.
More images and further description after the break.
Over the next few weeks, a series of fundraising benefits dedicated to educating the public about New York City’s architecture is being hosted by Private Spaces/Private Access. Openhousenewyork (OHNY) will host five cocktail receptions in an effort to promote awareness about design to all who participate.
More information after the break.
Broadway Malyan, an international firm with offices in the UK, Europe, Middle East and Asia, recently presented their design for the National Heart Center in Singapore. This hospital is a part of a larger master plan that will redevelop the country’s General Hospital Outram Campus in a more technologically advanced and environmentally friendly way.
Project description and more images after break.
Dutch architects Mecanoo recently revealed their vision for transforming Longgang, a district of Shenzhen, China, into a thriving economic center. Their master plan calls for the growing city to be redesigned to include 8,000 residences and over 4.3 million square feet for commercial functions.
Project description and more images after the break.
Amidst financial buildings and high-rise apartments, Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut has redefined the conventional skyscraper. His 132 story complex for the south edge of Roosevelt Island addresses the pressing need for environmental and ecological sustainability. This conceptual design focuses on creating a completely self-sustaining organism that not only utilizes solar, wind, and water energies, but also addresses the pending food shortage problem.
More after the break.
NBBJ just revealed their latest design for UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion, slated to begin February 2010 and be completed just in time for the 2012-2013 basketball season. Upon UCLA’s decision to renovate the existing Pavilion due to its strong sentimental value, NBBJ’s design includes new lobby and concourse space, as well as new facilities for the athletes and additional seating for fans.
Project description and more images after the break.