"You see, the first goal in this place was to deliver something beautiful where such an ugliness was there before,” says Calatrava in the film. “To deliver something optimistic looking to the future where so much sadness and depression was there.”
Aedas has released its design for Gmond International Building, a representative regeneration project located in the old town area of Shenzhen, China. The 200-meter super high-rise building is inspired by the traditional form of Chinese totem bamboo, which symbolizes prosperity and moral integrity.
With nearly 60,000 square meters of gross floor area, the building will house the headquarters for Tellus-Gmond, Grade 5A lettable office spaces, and a jewelry-trading center.
Mecanoo has unveiled its design to transform The Soestdijk Estate into Eden Soestdijk, “an experimental garden for a sustainable society and a paradise destination for all” in The Netherlands. In an effort to become an educational tool for environmental awareness, the project aims to make a significant contribution to meeting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
“The world is facing pressure from increasingly larger and more complex problems when it comes to water, food, climate and energy,” said Anton Valk, chairman of the Eden Soestdijk foundation. “Eden Soestdijk wants to tackle these problems and contribute to a more sustainable society by stimulating and inspiring visitors to change their behaviour in a positive way.”
An architectural greenhouse behind the palace gardens will be the centerpiece of the project, and will house an interactive exhibition focusing on topics like circularity, ecological balance, and social aspects of sustainability.
Daniel Valle Architects has been awarded first prize in the public competition to design a kindergarten and senior welfare center in Seoul, South Korea, with its project, Maebong Daycare Center.
Located in the neighborhood of Oksu-dong, the 700-square-meter Center is designed around the idea of shifting the scale of the building, so that children feel more comfortable. For example, the massing of the space is broken down into five units that utilize various colors, geometries, and materials to emphasize smaller units within the whole.
“Interior spaces are designed considering both the adult and the children size. Classrooms and other spaces are provided with smart storage solutions to maximize the usage of space and flexibility. A 'thick wall' will contain most of the items needed in the classroom as well as provide exercise and fun features.”
The Canvas consists of individual modules, each of which is a cube made from steel framework, back paneling, L-shaped jambs, secondary structure, waterproofing board, irrigation piping, Green Studios hydroponic skin, and plants. These layered components are assembled on four sides of the cube module, with a motor and water pipe attachment that circulates water throughout.
Imaginative Italian illustrator and architect Federico Babina has unveiled his latest series, ARCHITALE, “a tribute to the fairytale universe where the architectures are reinvented to accommodate the protagonists of the story.”
Through his illustrations, Babina imagines 17 structures that dance between reality and fantasy, with each architectural detail revealing information about the characters and story of the respective fairytale.
Courtesy of Evangelos Fokialis and Pyliotis Alkiviadis
Alkiviadis Pyliotis and Evangelos Fokialis have won Second Prize in the European architectural competition for the new Cultural Village of Lemba, in Paphos, Cyprus, which called for spaces dedicated to the production of ideas and art to support the expansion of the village.
Entitled Inherent Simplicity, the proposal centers on spatial arrangements of fundamental architectural archetypes, as well as “the importance of outdoor life, social osmosis, and the vital relationship with nature to the condition necessary to artistic creation.”
Santa-Monica-based Steven Christensen Architecture has won the 2016 AAP American Architecture Prize for Recreational Architecture, with its design for the Liepāja Thermal Bath and Hotel in Latvia.
In an exploration of the role of the dome throughout the architectural history of public baths, the project utilizes dome shapes—both upright and inverted “as a rhizomatic formal and organizational embodiment of a contemporary public that is democratic, horizontally empowered, and increasingly networked” explained the architects.
In somewhat of a departure from its usual parametric, experimental work, Margot Krasojević Architects has created a recycled, 3D printed LED light, in an investigation of the importance of reappropriating plastics. The project—Lace LED—however, aligns with the firm’s exploration of renewable energy and environmental issues within architecture and product design.
Printed with post-consumer plastics like synthetic polymer packaging from takeout food containers and 3D printer off-cuts, Lace LED is a light diffuser with fractal pattern configurations resembling a piece of woven lace.
Sinan Günay and Nurhayat Oz of Superspace have won second prize in the MetsäWood competition, The City Above the City, which called for architects to design wooden extensions to city centers. With their project, Colliding Lines and Lives, the team designed a series wooden housing modules to be appended to a fourth-century Roman aqueduct archway in Istanbul.
Built by the Roman emperor Valens, the archway was an important water supply for the Romans and Ottomans but later lost its significance and functionality with technological and infrastructural advancements, leaving it an unutilized landmark in the city.
Entitled “Architecture for the Search for Knowledge,” the lecture is named for Ábalos’ mantra by the same words, which is an aphorism written by Friedrich Nietzsche.
Throughout the event, Ábalos delved into various mixed-use typologies, each of which is in some way related to the basic typology of the medieval monastery.
The Aggregate Architectural History Collaborative has organized a collection of essays, entitled The Destruction of Cultural Heritage: From Napoléon to ISIS, which examines several centuries of the demolition of monuments in the Middle East. With world events like ISIS and the protection of architectural heritage growing to be more and more topical, this collection is a useful tool in considering the role of violence, how ancient architecture is perceived as a cultural entity, what role the media has to play, and beyond.
The Architectural Review has recently published an article celebrating the 50th anniversary of Robert Venturi’s book, Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture, which is regarded as one of the most important writings about architecture since Le Corbusier’s Vers une Architecture. In the article, Martino Stierli—Chief Curator of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art—delves into the significance of Venturi’s work, the motivation behind it, its continuing impact, and more. Read the full article at the Architectural Review, here.
German magazine Der Spiegel has conducted an interview with Zhang Xin, billionaire real estate mogul and founder of SOHO China—the company behind such well-known buildings as Zaha Hadid Architects' Galaxy SOHO and Wangjing SOHO. In the interview, Xin discusses the Chinese economy, her changing business model, digitalization, the symbolic value of buildings, and more. Learn more about Xin’s take on success and change in China by reading the full interview here.
Martin Duplantier Architectes has won a competition organized by Chinese tour company ZTG with a design for a series of “illusionist” bridges and pavilions in western Zhangjiajie, China. Contrasting with the surrounding “baroque” landscape, which is a world heritage site, the project utilizes geometric forms and delicate placement to “create a physical relationship” with its neighboring rock faces.
The project features three footbridges: "the illusion of a mirror for one, the fear of the void for the next, and lastly the setting in abyss for the final.”
PIARENA has won the Archchel-2020 competition to create a Congress Hall for BRICS and SCO events in central Chelyabinsk, Russia along the Miass River. Separated into two parts by the river, the site will additionally host business meetings, public events, and exhibitions.
In order to emphasize the curve of the river, the new congress hall building will be a solid volume spanning across the river, rectangular in footprint, but curved in a sail shape above.
Rising up to 61 and 150 meters, the building is hoped to become a new urban landmark, as well as a pedestrian crossing over the river.
BAD.Built by Associative Data has released its designs for BARCELONA, a new mixed-use development on the Mediterranean coast of Beirut, Lebanon at the Ramlet El Bayda waterfront.
Spanning 18,000 square meters, the project will serve as “a new gastronomic experience, embracing the Mediterranean from a remarkable vantage point,” through a clustered development featuring restaurants, coffee shops, lounges, and event spaces.
Morphosis Architects’ Hanking Center Tower in Shenzhen, China has recently topped out, with the 62nd floor now in place. Defined by its detached core configuration, the building positions its primary core 9 meters outside its main body, connected by a series of sky bridges and braces, in order to increase flexibility and light penetration into the floor plate.
Two secondary cores in the body of the building provide structural reinforcement and house private elevators for VIP users, as well as freight elevators and mechanical services.
In an effort to serve global professionals and bring density to the suburb of Nanshan, the tower will feature flexible office space on its open floor plate, anchored by high-end retail and dining.
