Ennead Architects has won an international competition to design the Shanghai Planetarium. The “celestial” design hopes to elevate the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum’s (SSTM) “scientific and technological capacity” while redefine the district Lingang upon its completion in 2018.
“Drawing inspiration form astronomical principles, our design strategy provides a platform for the experience of orbital motion, and utilizes that as a metaphorical reference and generator of form,” says Ennead Architects.
Named for its location at the intersection of Vasastaden and "the Haga city" of Hagastaden, Belatchew Arkitekter's "HagaTwist" has been selected by Atrium Ljungberg as the winner of an invited architectural competition for the construction of a public building in Stockholm. Envisioned as a "meeting place" for visitors, workers, and locals alike, the project will feature a flexible program and incorporate a restaurant and rooftop terrace.
This active multi-use pavilion by Bence Pap and Parsa Khalili took second prize in the OUE Artling ArchiPavilion Design Competition in Singapore. Designed around the principles of continuity and flexibility, the Artling Pavilion provides an adaptable space that accommodates evolving programs and ensures constant adherence to the occupants' needs.
The first-place competition winner from KM 429 architecture, this proposal for the Isola Garibaldi Civic Center draws inspiration from Milan’s historic architectural tradition superimposed within the modern urban context. Through its refusal to be monumentalized, the Civic Center generates a new language within its neighborhood and looks to the city's past to create a vital civic architecture to serve present, and future, needs.
The city of Uppsala invited BIG to design a biomass cogeneration plant that would offset its peak energy loads throughout the fall, winter and spring as part of an international competition (ultimately won by Liljewall Arkitekter). Home to Scandinavia’s oldest university and landmark Uppsala cathedral, the plant proposal’s biggest challenge was to respect the city’s historic skyline.
Considering the project’s proposed seasonal use, BIG envisioned a dual-use power plant that transcends the public perception; in the summer months, the “crystalline” proposal was designed to transform into a venue for festivals during the peak of tourism.
SO-IL, in collaboration with FREAKS freearchitects, has been selected as the first-prize winner of a competition to reinvent the historic Site Verrier in France. Located in the Northern Vosges Natural Park, the updated plan addresses three elements of the site's industrial past while providing a dynamic space for cultural interaction and historic exploration of Site Verrier's glass factory days.
RTA-Office has released its first-prize winning proposal for the Wuhu Urban Planning Exhibition, Office, and Archive. The design stems from the idea of an “urban cultural container,” holding both knowledge and space, and extracts its sculptural form from the surrounding mountainous landscape.
Pushing for the Exhibition Hall to be a recognizable landmark, the design is largely driven by its surrounding context. The building as a whole derives its shape from the rocky faces of the nearby Yashan Mountain, giving it a strong sense of place. Similarly, the structure is divided into three distinct sections all grounded by a central public space, each informed by the same rocky inspiration. The cracks in the rocks’ surfaces are mirrored in the irregular entrances and windows carved into the building’s volumes.
Auerbach Halevy Architects have been announced as winner of a competition to design a museum to display the history and future of Jewish sports in the heart of the Maccabiah Village – a 22 acre sports complex at the outskirts of Ramat Gan, Israel. With over 700,000 business travelers and tourists entering its gates each year, the complex plans to join the museum with a 350-seat auditorium, three-star hotel and education spaces to maximize its appeal and use. The building will also include the Maccabi House archives - the world's largest repository and collection of documents and objects related to the living heritage of Jewish sports.
Chilean architects Archiplan and international office Architects of Invention have unveiled their concept design for a new public plaza in Santiago. Prepared as a competition entry, the proposal is a tribute to the late Chilean architect Fernando Castillo Velasco, sited in front of his iconic Tajamar Towers.
Entitled "Origami Highline," the project draws inspiration from the ancient Japanese paper folding craft of origami and takes the form of a sculptural intervention in Balmaceda Park.
View from main atrium. Image Courtesy of Tsabikos Petras Architectural Studio
The first prize winner of a Greek design competition in Greece, which challenged participants to redesign an existing structure into an archaeological museum, this proposal by Tsabikos Petras Architectural Studio examines both the reintroduction of green areas into the city and relationship among city, sea, and coast. The scheme follows the lead of a north-south and east-west axis which present a pedestrian connection between the museum and a public square, and an archaeological site with a second public square, respectively.
The latest competition entry, "Gate 2 Tower" from Pichler & Traupmann Architekten examines the relationship formed between a high-rise building and its local and global surroundings to create a cohesive design that bridges the problematic gap between these different scales. Employing unconventional methods, Gate 2 Tower features geometries that not only create unique interactions, but also inform each other.
Group8asia is nearing completion on a first-prize winning proposal that is meant to revive the concept of public housing in Singapore. The Punggol Waterway Terraces, so named for the river on which they’re set, will be a sustainable community that aims to echo the utopic exuberance of Singapore’s first housing developments in the 1970s. Arranged around central courtyards, these high-rise apartments hope to create a sleek, graceful skyline that contrasts with the verdant greenery of their landscape.
OFFICETWENTYFIVEARCHITECTS (O25) has won second prize the Prologis' 2030 Design competition, which challenged participating firms from seven European countries to redefine what logistics buildings may look like in the future.
O25's proposal utilizes a site similar to characteristic distribution sites, under the assumption that future demands will be closely aligned with current one. With this mentality, the design utilizes a greenfield site within close proximity to major transportation systems, but is not directly in the heart of the urban environment. Due to its semi-rural locality, the goal of the design was to create a functional and efficient distribution system that would not compete with, but rather complement, its surroundings, so unsightly features (storage areas) are located underground. Additional nods to the landscape are made by the integration of green space atop the loading bays.
Spanish-Kuwaiti firm AGi architects has been awarded second prize in a competition to design a new courthouse in Qatar’s capital, Doha. The restricted competition, organized by the Government of Qatar, challenged 30 participants, of which four were shortlisted to compete in the final round.
AGi’s proposal was based off of two grids - the immediate site’s and the larger city - resulting in a “floating,” canopy-like structure that metaphorical “protects” its inhabitants. View the complete proposal, after the break.
Envisioned as part of a new media park slated for construction in the city, the building's design is playful and contemporary, offering visitors a "series of unique spatial experiences." Learn more about the project and view selected images from the proposal after the break.
CREO ARKITEKTER A/S and JAJA architects have won first prize in a competition to restore the mid-century Roskilde Swimming Hall outside of Copenhagen. The Danish team will “architecturally transform” the site’s existing building complex and 1960s water tower into a “cohesive spatial experience” that offers a range of naturally lit bathing areas and amenities directly connected to the surrounding park.
“We propose a diverse roof element that ties the entire complex – new and existing – into a cohesive architectural composition,” says the architects. “A horizontal window band will frame the landscape whilst creating a strong visual connection between the exterior and interior water space. A series of green courtyards will enhance the experience by bringing daylight and nature into the heart of the swimming bath.”
MVRDV has been announced as winner of a two-stage, BAI-backed competition for a new “spatially-flexible” tower with a twisting “hourglass figure” near Vienna’s world famous Gasometers. The 110-meter “Turm mit Taille” (Tower with Waist) was shaped to minimize the effect of the building’s shadow cast onto neighboring buildings and an adjacent metro station.
Amongst the proposals received was one from a Canadian team comprised of architect Naiji Jiao and landscape architect Seven Xiru Chen, whose entry “The Pyramid Park" was awarded first place. Read more about the winning entry after the break.
The city of Bressanone, Italy, is looking for a new School of Music, and Tomas Ghisellini Architects have won a recognition of honor for their proposal. Taking inspiration from the loggias, piazzas and cloisters of the surrounding city, their school design creates a “landscape within a landscape” in which students may study and practice music. Called “Supernova,” the design includes a rehearsal hall, classrooms, and plenty of indoor and outdoor spaces that act as transitional space between the city fabric and the abutting parkland. Learn more, after the break.
Recent participants in the Liget Budapest design competition, Graeme Massie Architects have taken home third place for their proposed Museum of Ethnography design. The museum, one of five museums planned for the Liget Budapest development, is located at the very corner of Budapest City Park and is meant to act as a welcoming landmark for the city. Graeme Massie fulfills this requirement in a unique fashion, creating a building that is instantly recognizable, but still manages to blend with its surroundings. Learn more, after the break.
Sang-Uk & Heeyun has shared with us their entry for the AWR Copenhagen New Modern Library Competition. Centered around park, sea, and the city, the undulating ribbed library aims to connect to its surroundings seamlessly. “The form of building reflects the idea of continuous and extended circulation from everywhere to everywhere,” says Sang-Uk & Heeyun.
Taking home third place in the Liget Budapest competition, the Laboratory for Explorative Architecture and Design (LEAD) has proposed a colorful design for Budapest’s new photography and architecture museums. A stunning shade of blue, the undulating buildings will mark the entrance to Budapest City Park, and provide a new cultural hotspot for Hungary’s capital city. Learn more about them, after the break.
MOBO Architects has won a competition to refurbish the vertical and horizontal access structures of the UNESCO protected fortresses that surround Cartagena's colonial walled city. With an aim to create a walking tour through the bastions and walls that is both safe and pleasant, MOBO’s winning proposal offers a series of urban interventions that will unify the existing disparate structures and create a continuous pathway for pedestrians and cyclists. This, as MOBO describes, will “completely restructure the way that the citizens and visitors use not only the wall, but also the spaces in the city.”
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