Since it’s opening on September 16th, the Jean Nouvel acrylic encasement and historic Jane’s Carousel has become a landmark in the heart of Brooklyn Bridge Park for New York families. The welcoming public pavilion offers spectacular views of the East River, the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges, and the Manhattan skyline.
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Norman Foster has launched proposals for the Thames Hub as “An Integrated Vision for Britain”. The self-funded collaboration between Foster + Partners, Halcrow and Volterra has produced a detailed, holistic vision for Britain’s future development of infrastructure.
The rapidly population growth and evolving global economy has put pressure on UK’s aged infrastructure. The study describes the Spine, which will combine rail, energy, communications and data throughout the entire length of the UK. The Spine is supported by the proposed Thames Hub, introducing a new river barrier and crossing, an international airport, and a shipping and rail complex.
The Thames Hub plans to maximize Britain trade links with the rest of world, stimulate job creation, and boost the economies of the Midlands and the North by providing direct connections to the cities and markets of Europe.
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Yesterday Richard Meier & Partners announced the design of a new Italian residence, Villa Gardone. The home is part of a complex in Gardone Riviera that is to be designed by a number of illustrious architecture firms from Europe and the U.S and completed by 2014.
Continue reading from more information on the Villa Gardone.
Mark Gilbert discusses redesigning and rebuilding the city of Jacmel, Haiti with Alexander Britell from Caribbean Journal. The architect and his colleagues at trans_city used New Orleans typologies and their concept of rapid-response housing to provide an economical reconstruction proposal that will provide long-term stability to the people of Jacmel.
Shinkenchiku brings you an exclusive inside tour of the contemporary House NA, designed by Sou Fujimoto Architects. Thin, steel poles delicately support the transparent “pile of boxes” at varying heights. In an interview conducted by F.W. Monocle, Sou Fujimoto explains, “In one way the house is like a single space, but each room is also a tiny space of its own. The clients said they wanted to live like nomads within the house – they didn’t have specific plans for each room. The house looks radical but for the clients it seemed quite natural.”
The glorious feeling of winning an architectural competition may quickly diminish after the realization that the achievement was only the beginning of the battle.
Officials have confirmed that Krueck + Sexton’s winning competition entry for the new home of the Chicago Children’s Museum has been removed from the redevelopment plan of the Richard J. Daley Bicentennial Plaza on the northeast corner of Grant Park.
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Star architect, Frank Gehry, attempts to survive the decline of U.S. growth by turning to Asia. The Architecture Billings Index illustrates the decreased demand for design serves in America by plunging from 51.4 in August to 46.9 in September. According to the American Institute of Architects, a score less than 50 indicates a decline in billings.
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Alumni descriptions of the architectural education experience can often range from frustration to admiration. The article Creative Education? An Analysis of Existing Architecture Education in Singapore, written by a fourth year student attending the National University of Singapore, is a collection of thoughts and observations based on this individual’s experience. The article primarily focused on particular frustrations. However, these same frustrations are comparable to those commonly voiced throughout many institutions across the United States.
For the second year in a row, Architects Southwest has inspired 200 applicants from 12 countries to design imaginative zombie-proof architecture that will save thousands of lives during the inevitable zombie apocalypse. The goal of the competition is to “design a haven that can withstand a full-on zombie assault on civilization as we know it.”
These creative designs may one day save you from the dead, therefore voting is important. Click here to browse through the entries and give thumbs up to your favorite designs. Voting ends on Halloween, October 31st, 2011.
Continue reading to view some of the top competitors.
The World Monuments Fund calls for international awareness to the 2012 list of endangered monuments. The watch encompasses 67 threatened cultural-heritage sites worldwide. These influential landmarks include the iconic Manufacturers Trust Company Building in New York City designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Paul Rudolph’s Orange County Government Center in Goshen, New York.
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The AIA Seattle chapter recognized nineteen projects for design excellence from across the state of Washington. An extensive collection of 140 submittals were reviewed, resulting in the selection of ten institutional, seven residential, and two commercial projects. The general theme showed an integration of sustainability into architectural work, stating that the “old discussion of green design in opposition to good design argument is history.”
Nancy Levinson, Editor of Places/Design Observer, moderated the packed event at Benaroya Hall. The competition was juried by Marlon Blackwell FAIA (University of Arkansas), Martin Felsen AIA (Chicago) and Jennifer Yoos (Minneapolis). Co-Chairs were Wendy Pautz AIA of LMN Architects and Guy Michaelsen ASLA of the Berger Partnership.
Continue reading for the complete list of the 2011 winners.
Production and design firm, The Department of the 4th Dimension (The D4D), created the world’s first pop-up scent museum for Sephora & Firmenich. The Sensorium: Lucid Dreams from the Sensory World is an interactive exhibition exploring the emotions and instincts behind scent.
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Digital fabrication has been a popular discussion among architecture and design professionals. Students are digitally fabricating their models and building their own personalized 3D printers. What was impossible to build by hand is quickly assembled through digital fabrication. As the technology rapidly evolves, larger objects are being fabricated at more affordable prices. Today we may be digitally fabricating furniture and tomorrow we might be 3D printing our house. Architects and designers are jumping on board and exploring the capabilities of this game changing technology.
Guo Jinlong, the Mayor of Beijing, China and Thomas J. Pritzker, Chairman of the Hyatt, revealed the location of the 34th Pritzker Prize Ceremony. The prestigious event will be held in Beijing, China on May 25th, 2012.
Cornell University’s proposed New York City Tech Campus on Roosevelt Island plans to become a sustainable landmark. Oriented by the sun, the 10-acre campus encompasses the largest solar array in New York City, four acres of geothermal wells, and 500,000 square-feet of open green space dedicated to the public. If built today, the campus’s 150,000 square-foot main academic building would be the largest net-zero energy building in the eastern United States.
The proposed campus is designed by Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill (SOM). Landscape will be designed by James Corner Field Operations. Cornell teamed up with alumnus and managing director of Distributed Sun, Jeff Weiss, to help build a comprehensive energy solution. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the NYS Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) also participated in the conceptualization of the proposed renewable energy and energy efficient aspects.
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On October 20, The Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey (MARCO) and Richard Meier & Partners Architects launched Latin America’s first retrospective exhibition celebrating the forty-eight years of Richard Meier’s career. The show reveals an in-depth overview of many significant projects, showcasing a large collection of models, original sketches, photographs, renderings and an exclusive gallery dedicated to Meier’s product design.
Construction of Steven Holl Architects’ Sliced Porosity Block is making progress in Chengdu, China. The large hybrid complex topped out at a 123 meters in September and is scheduled for completion in 2012. The five towers house offices, serviced apartments, retail, a hotel, cafes, and restaurants. The 105,000 square foot site will stimulate a micro-urbanism and offer generous amounts of public open space.
Architects: Steven Holl Architects Location: Chengdu, China Project Area: 310,000 sqm Project Year: In Progress Under Construction Photographs: Steven Holl Architects
