LRA‘s competition entry for a new 321,000sf, $140m Museum of Polish History campus, Sixpoints, includes extensive permanent & temporary galleries, academic & lecture mini-tower, bookstore & gift shop, indoor/outdoor cafes, and administrative/observation tower overlooking the dramatic Warszawska Scarp greenbelt.
The site is situated adjacent to the historic Ujazdow Castle in central Warsaw, and LRA articulated the six major program elements in discrete architectural elements that reduce the visible massing of the project and that each have a specific character and access. These pavilions radiate out from and define an indoor/outdoor public Forum, creating a vibrant, active museum center – a new hub of cultural and educational activity and a common point that connects all parts of the MHP. More images and full architect’s description after the break.
Merry Christmas to everybody! And to celebrate the day Santa visit us from the North Pole, we bring you our selection of previously featured snow houses from all over the world. Enjoy!
The Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) is pleased to announce the Spring 2010 schedule of public programs and exhibitions, which welcomes award-winning architects, experimental musicians, and urban historians for programs that span from innovative theory to furniture design to technical practice. Programs and exhibitions at SCI-Arc are always free to the public.
This amazing waxed birch plywood modernist dollhouse named Villa Sibis was designed by German interior designer Wolfgang Sirch and sculptor Christoph Bitzer.
The book, a sequel to the 2001 monograph by the same publishing house, shows a selection of recent projects in a good format, with clear drawings and good photos.
The projects cover both residential and public works, such as the Willamette River Water Treatment Plant a wonderful project, which doubles as a park with picnic areas. The rest of the works of the firm have a clear signature when it comes to materials and structural solutions, with transparency as something in common.
I recommend this book for both its clear presentation and the quality of the works by the firm.
A few weeks ago, we featured a competition won by 3XN to transform the former freight train halls in Aarhus, Denmark into a new and dynamic cultural center. After the break, several more images and diagrams about this new cultural hub for scenography, visual arts and literature.
With several housing projects featured since we started, I think it’s time for the third part of this Round Up. Check the first one and second one before this one!
Schmidt hammer lassen architects has taken the environmental ambitions of the municipality of Aarhus as a key driver for the project and created a zero-energy office building, the first of its kind in Denmark. The building has 1,100 m2 of solar cells for the production of electricity, 420 m2 of solar thermal panels for absorption cooling and heating water, and rainwater harvesting for reuse in lavatories and for watering.
More images and full architect’s description after the break.
“Monuments + Bits; Work by Khoury Levit Fong” is an exhibition that combines parametric modeling and fabrication techniques with emerging responsive media to present architecture and urban design projects in an interactive and digitally augmented environment.
Design Challenge: The elevated Frederick G. Gardiner Expressway has been a controversial element of the Toronto skyline since it was completed in 1966. In recent years, public debate has been intensifying over whether its future should be a renovation, relocation, or complete removal. While many plans and proposals have been put forth over the years, none have produced a sufficiently compelling vision for a new urban identity and truly functional transportation system.
Our Flickr Pool is just short of 9,000 pictures! So choosing the best five may be a little difficult. Don’t miss any so check every photo right here. Otherwise, you can check our previous selections to find some great pictures submitted by our readers. As always, remember you can submit your photo here, and follow us through Twitter and our Facebook Fan Page to find more features.
This amazing picture was taken by Luis Alfaro in Brasilia, Brazil. Check the other four after the break.
The Gold Coast is Australia’s sixth largest city and one of the fastest growing regions. It’s also home for one of the most popular spots in Australia’s East Coast. The Gold Coast’s population is around 500,000 and, if as forecast, it continues to grow by 13,000 to 16,000 annually, it will be home to 900,000 residents by 2030.
Gold Coast City Council, with endorsement of the Australian Institute of Architects, organized an open Master plan Ideas Competition for a proposed Gold Coast Cultural and Civic Precinct. The 16.5 hectare site is bordered on three sides by rivers and canals. Formerly a simple rural cane farm, the site is now at the heart of a growing city with views across the skyline of Surfers Paradise, Main Beach and Broadbeach.
The purpose of the Master plan Ideas Competition was to generate creative new visions and ideas for the future of this key site and its facilities stimulate community discussion about the future of the Gold Coast Cultural and Civic Precinct. The competition was won by Sydney-based office Super Colossal. You can see more images of the winning project and architect’s description after the break.
The National Park Service and St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay announced a new international design competition to re-invigorate the park and city areas surrounding “one of the world’s most iconic monuments”, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. The competition, “Framing a Modern Masterpiece: The City + The Arch + The River 2015,” is called for in the National Park Service’s new General Management Plan, which was created through extensive public input over an 18-month period and approved on November 23, 2009.
Experts from all continents will meet in Mexico City at the 3rd International Holcim Forum for Sustainable Construction in April 2010. The conference for academics and professionals from architecture, civil engineering, urban planning, natural and social sciences will advance concepts on how construction needs to be re-invented and aligned with principles of sustainable development. Limited places are available – registration is possible until the end of January 2010.
Taking an array of disciplines into consideration, the focus of the Holcim Forum will be on knowledge mining and dissemination, material and product life-cycle assessment, CO2 emissions and energy efficiency, considered deployment of means and economic resources, as well as social welfare and equity. The event will offer opportunities for networking and discussion, stimulated by keynote speeches, workshops, panel sessions and a full-day excursion aligned with the workshop themes to sites in Mexico City.
International Expert Shows Openness and Potential of Austrian Architecture Culture Minister Claudia Schmied has appointed American star architect Eric Owen Moss as curator for the Austrian exhibit at the Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale in 2010.
Federal Minister Schmied considers Eric Owen Moss an expert with a profound knowledge of Austrian architecture: “Eric Owen Moss has a keen eye for the strengths in Austrian architecture. He is aware of the intensive discourse in the development of architecture and urban planning in our country, which is open to innovative and foreign concepts. He also sees the wide array of excellent architects in Austria, who are creating and building around the world.”
We had the chance to interview Eric earlier this year, and we had a really interesting conversation. Watch the interview here. More on the Austria exhibit after the break.
York University has selected Levitt Goodman Architects to develop detailed designs for its competition-winning design for a 26,390 ft2 renovation of York University’s main library on its Keele campus. The “Learning Commons” will provide users with a mix of group study areas that will shift York University’s 40-year old Scott Library into a progressive learning environment.
The $2M renovation will be the first initiative on the campus specifically designed to reflect York’s pedagogical shift from a teacher-centered approach to active and collaborative learning. More images and description after the break.
