Inaugurated on September 21st, 2023, The Chicago Architecture Biennial is a city-wide festival that will continue until the end of the year. Titled “This is a Rehearsal,” the event is set up as a love letter to Chicago, activating ongoing dialogue around and in the city. One month after the biennial started, events are still ongoing, with open houses, theater performances, and virtual conferences happening throughout this week.
Through January 2024, the exhibition “Sommet: Structure, Precision, and Detail” will be on display at the Bisman Ediciones Architecture Gallery and Residence, located in the “Casa de Estudios para artistas” by Antonio Bonet, Horacio Vera Barros, and Abel López Chas in the heart of downtown Buenos Aires. Through plans and models, Sommet architecture studio showcases work defined by simplicity, understatement, and high construction quality.
In April 2019, a devastating fire engulfed the 860-year-old Notre Dame Cathedral in Pars, severely damaging its wooden roof and leading to the collapse of the 19th-century spire, originally designed by Viollet-le-Duc. Immediately after, French President Emmanuel Macron promised that the iconic monument would be restored in just 5 years, an ambitious deadline. As the restoration of the roof structures nears completion, in February 2023, the scaffolding for the reconstruction of the spire has been assembled. The Spire is expected to be finished by the end of the month.
The Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation and Wael Al Awar have jointly unveiled “Tashkent: Appropriating Modernism” at the Sharjah Architecture Triennial. The showcase spotlights three essential instances of modern architecture in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Crafted by Wael Al Awar, founder and principal architect of waiwai, the initiative presents the three case studies and their significant evolution.
Designed by Powerhouse Company, the BaanTower has started construction in the remodeled Baan Quarter neighborhood of Rotterdam. The residential tower strives to promote a sustainable architecture based on the well-being of its residents. Upon completion, the high-rise will house 427 apartments available for rent. Seven years after the original draft, the project has recently received its building permit, and is expected to be completed by 2026.
Pantone has just just announced “Peach Fuzz” or PANTONE 13-1023,” the 2024 Color of the Year. Known for its color standards and digital solutions in the design community, Pantone announced the color aiming to move towards empathy and understanding. A hue between pink and orange, the color is soft and inviting and offers “tenderness and communicating a message of caring, community, and collaboration.”
This article was originally published on Common Edge.
Lake Tonle Sap is a part of Cambodia’s inland water system that’s connected to the flooded forests that purify water and buffer communities from storms—an important benefit as climate change makes extreme weather more frequent. Every year from June to November, the Mekong Delta backs up into Lake Tonle Sap, creating water-depth fluctuations of up to 10 meters. The result is that land-based buildings are inundated during the rainy season, then refurbished and reoccupied again after the water recedes.
The winning project of the Oscar Hagerman Prize International Architecture Competition has been announced. Established in 2017 to honor the career of architect Oscar Hagerman, the biennial competition recognizes social architecture concepts, encouraging participants to utilize regional materials while prioritizing user needs.
The MPavilion represents one of the most important architectural events happening annually in Melbourne, Australia. Initiated and founded by the Naomi Milgrom Foundation, the event was first launched in 2014 and has since brought internationally recognized architects to design a temporary structure in Melbourne's Queen Victoria Gardens in a system similar to London’s Serpentine Gallery Pavilion. From Sean Godsell's solar-actioned panels to Studio Mumbai‘s experimental bamboo structure, each pavilion explores craftsmanship and contemporary design while fostering a rich cultural program for several months before being disassembled and donated to one of the city’s parks. As the latest pavilion was recently inaugurated by Tadao Ando, we look back at the previous editions of Australia’s most famous annual structure.
CHYBIK+KRISTOF has won an international competition to design a multifunctional tower as a significant part of Tirana’s evolving landscape. The structure is situated in the heart of the capital city’s culture hub within the New Boulevard, reflecting a shift in Tirana’s urban development. With its distinctive red concrete silhouette, it aims to create a new landmark, signaling the commencement of various other projects outlined in the masterplan.
Sir John Soane’s Museum has announced French architecture practice Lacaton & Vassal as the recipient of the 2023 Soane Medal. The award comes in recognition of the office’s work spanning over 3 decades. Through an honest design approach, the office became known for the resourceful repurposing of materials and existing structures to prioritize the needs of residents and local communities. For this approach, the office has been previously awarded as the 2021 Pritzker Prize 2021 Laureate.
Foster + Partners has unveiled the plans for a new multi-purpose design in the heart of Miami Beach. “The Aalton” is a six-story building encompassing ground-level retail, offices, and residential spaces. Positioned at the intersection of Aalton Road and Lincoln Road, the renowned pedestrian shopping street, the building embraces Florida’s architectural heritage.
The MA Awards, conceived by Mujer ArquitectA, aim to highlight and promote the creations of contemporary women architects in Chile, valuing their contribution to the architectural field. This recognition celebrates the excellence and outstanding contributions of women architects in the field of creation and design. These awards seek to highlight the innovation, unique vision, and exceptional skill of women architects, offering a meaningful space to honor and bring visibility to their valuable impact on the world of architecture.
On Tuesday, December 5, at the AOA (Association of Architectural Offices) auditorium, the following winners were announced.
The Fundación ICA presents the initiative to establish the ICA Center for Education, Research, and Training (CENFICA), which will consolidate ICA's historical mission and vision for the professional development of new generations of professionals and the continuous training of its employees. Drawing on academic program experiences and the creation of innovation laboratories for construction and prefabrication processes, ICA promotes CENFICA through Fundación ICA—a non-profit civil association founded in 1986—aiming to expand its institutional outreach across three core areas: Education, Research, and Training.
A new set of images showcases BIG's One High Line development nearing completion. Located on the ‘Architecture Row’ in New York, the coupled twisting towers share the Hudson River skyline with neighbors such as Frank Gehry’s IAC building, Renzo Piano’s Whitney Museum of American Art, and Jean Nouvel’s The Chelsea Nouvel ('100 Eleventh Avenue'), along with future works by Thomas Heatherwick and other renown architects. The two condominium towers designed by BIG are organized to define a central public courtyard, activating the public space with retail and commercial facilities. The towers’ exterior and the majority of the interior are completed, with the courtyard expected to be finished by early 2024.
The 2023 RIBA House of the Year Award has been awarded to “Green House.” Designed by Hayhurst & Co, this polycarbonate-lined residential family home was inspired by nature. The annual award recognizes the house as the best example of residential design in the UK. Described as a “domestic greenhouse” and an “extraordinary ordinary house” by the RIBA jury, the design reflects nature’s ability to influence design.
Moderated by David Basulto, Co-Founder and editor-in-chief at ArchDaily, the panel featured Jury Chairs for the Holcim Awards 2023 competition, Lesley Lokko, Belinda Tato, Craig Dykers, Manit Rastogi, and Tatiana Bilbao, who explained how the winning projects contributed to the industry's global knowledge network across regions, and how the construction industry is heading towards a sustainable practice.
The Panel Discussion took place on November 19th, 2023 at the Teatro Piccolo Arsenale, in Venice, Italy.
Studio Gang has revealed the design for a new theater for the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (HVSF). Planned to become the first purpose-built LEED Platinum theater in the United States, the building located in Garrison, NY, will serve as the permanent home for HVSF. The structure, measuring over 13,800 square feet, or 1,280 square meters, is designed to become the central point of the 98-acre HVSF campus, aiming to emphasize the theater company’s commitment to sustainable principles and social engagement. The project is expected to break ground in 2024.
