Dutch practice MVRDV has won the competition to design the new Vanke headquarters building in Shenzhen. Designed for the major Chinese real estate developer, the 250 meter tall project is a cluster of eight interlinked blocks of offices, housing and culture. The concept was grounded in MVRDV's research into the three-dimensional city. Aiming to rethink the next generation of skyscrapers, the tower rises from four separate bases to a single crowning tower.
MAD Architects have revealed new photographs of their Nanjing Zendai Himalayas Center, as work nears completion in China. The mixed-use development, totaling over 560,000 square meters of building area, will host commercial, hotel, office, and residential functions. The development “seeks to restore the spiritual harmony between humanity and nature” through integrating contemplative spaces that merge nature with the demands of modern living.
A series of low-rise buildings and footbridges allow the scheme to unfold onto the city, with curving, ascending corridors and elevated pathways weaving through commercial buildings. The routes are activated by public gardens and social spaces, to “create a spiritual and poetic retreat in the middle of the city.
One of the most tragic events in Europe in 2018 was the collapse of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa, Italy on August 14th, claiming 43 lives. In the aftermath of the disaster, Genoa-born architect Renzo Piano offered to donate the design of a bridge to replace the old one, having been deeply affected by the tragedy.
In a positive development before the year ends, Genoa’s mayor has announced that Piano will lead a 200-million-euro ($230 million) project for the bridge’s replacement, inspired by Genoa’s historic maritime prominence.
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Elon Musk’s Boring Company has unveiled the latest component of their visionary plans for a network of tunnels under Los Angeles. The new “Hawthorne” test tunnel, built at the corner of SpaceX’s parking lot, forms part of Musk’s mission to reduce traffic in cities through a dual system of boring tunnels, and fully electric, autonomous transport to operate within them.
The Los Angeles project ultimately seeks to develop a large, multi-layered network with a loop of highway tunnels seeing cars traveling at 150 miles per hour. While cars will use the superhighways for a small fee, the company will also have a fleet of Teslas operating as public transport.
Danish practice Henning Larsen has created a new masterplan to reimagine the suburbs and town of Täby, Sweden. Hoping to address the desire for vibrant city life in suburbia, the 292,000 sq meter masterplan emphasizes sports, education, nature, culture and entrepreneurship. Transforming Täby from a suburb into a city, the project will focus on the town's cohesive sense of local identity, as well as its strong emphasis on education and the environment.
Ten sustainable social housing projects from Chilean universities have qualified to be built for the third edition of the Construye Solar competition, and will be exhibited in Santiago in October 2019.
Organized by La Ruta Solar and sponsored by the Technological Center for Innovation in Construction (CTec), the Construye Solar initiative aims to "generate new capabilities within the sustainable construction sector in Latin America and raise public awareness of the economic, environmental, and social benefits offered by eco-friendly housing," as noted by the organizers.
After establishing itself—with ten editions already—as a key reference event for understanding the current and future state of architecture and urbanism in the Ibero-American community, the XI BIAU will take place for the first time in the city of Asunción in October 2019. The program of activities will include the presentation of selected works, keynote lectures, specialized presentations, and panel discussions organized around the central theme: aĩ paragua y (I inhabit - water).
A team of Dutch design studios have won the competition for a new high-rise development next to the Leidsche Rijn station in Utrecht. Architekten Cie, Karres en Brands, KCAP and Geurst & Schulze joined together to create a development of three towers with over 1,000 residences. Mixing social housing with medium to high rent apartments, the project weaves together collective spaces around sustainable urban living. Redefining high-rise design, the vertical village aims to bring Utrecht's landscapes into the sky.
The organizers behind the FIFA 2022 Qatar World Cup have released new images of the Foster + Partners-designed Lusail Stadium. Merging contemporary and historical influences, the “sleek, bold shape” of the arena is inspired by the bowls and vessels used in the Middle East across centuries.
Foster + Partners were chosen for the scheme’s design in 2015, ahead of David Chipperfield Architects, Mossessian & Partners and Mangera Yvars Architects. Located in Lusail City, 15 kilometers north of Doha, the 80,000-seat stadium will host the opening ceremony and final match of one of the world’s biggest sporting occasions.
Plans for a set of skyscrapers for Brisbane, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, have been scrapped following a long-running controversy. The "Grace on Coronation" scheme, lodged for application in 2014, consisted of three sculptural residential towers and sought to reinvigorate a historic site in Toowong, four kilometers west of Brisbane’s Central Business District.
However, the scheme has been criticized for a perceived lack of sensitivity to the surrounding area, with its proposed 27 stories breaching the city plan limit of 15 stories. In May 2018, a sole resident won an appeal against the development due to the height violation.
To honor renowned Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer’s birthday (December 15, 1907), Slovenian photographer Danica Kus published a series of black and white photographs highlighting Niemeyer’s surviving architecture. The architect, who passed in 2012 at the age of 104, is considered one of the greatest modernist architects of the 20th century.
Kus’ photographs accentuate the hyperbolic curves characteristic of Niemeyer’s design, while also highlighting the geometric harmony of rectilinear elements. In an exclusive interview with ArchDaily before his death, Mr. Niemeyer described his personal definition of architecture: “In my opinion, architecture is invention. And under this prism is how I do my projects, always searching for beautiful, expressive, different and surprising solutions.” This photo series encompasses the subtleties of Niemeyer’s premier works and spans his career.
Morphosis has revealed a design for a new 15-story hotel along the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. The design comes four months after Silver Creek Development purchased the property and the site of the landmark Viper Room night club. At nearly 200 feet in height, the mid-rise structure would feature an a large interior opening through two connected towers. The sinuous hotel would redefine one of L.A.'s most iconic streetscapes.
Pritzker laureate Thom Mayne goes back to SCI-Arc, the renowned school he cofounded back in 1972. More from their press release:
As part of the programming ahead of the 2019 Oslo Architecture Triennale, the “Degrowth” curatorial team have released a book in association with Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO.) The book, titled “Being Tectonic” was developed with students as part of a course focusing on domestic architecture.
Berlin-based Burkinabé architect Diébédo Francis Kéré has designed a wooden pavilion for Tippet Rise Art Center in Montana. In addition to the pavilion, the Tippet Rise Fund of the Sidney E. Frank Foundation will also support Kéré's work to build an environmentally sustainable secondary school in Burkina Faso called Naaba Belem Goumma. Kéré designed the project in the Beartooth Mountains so visitors can experience a "rain of light" as sunlight filters through a structure of vertically stacked logs.
UNStudio has broken ground on their TBC Forum in Tbilisi, Georgia, exploring a “new open, flexible and interactive approach to financial institutions.” Departing from the traditional closed, introverted typology of historic banking structures, the TBC Forum is founded on the design principles of flexibility, and transparency.
Situated in the natural surroundings of the Lisi Lake resort, the TBC Forum is strategically placed to form a contemporary yet respectful interpretation of the historic highland stone-and-mortar village of Shatili.
The CTBUH has released its Year in Review, charting the year’s tall building developments around the world. 2018 saw a record-breaking 18 supertall buildings (over 300 meters tall) built across the world, and 143 buildings of over 200 meters in height completed.
To quantify the extent to which architecture reached to the sky throughout the year, the CTBUH estimate that if each tall building completed in 2018 was laid end to end, it would exceed the entire length of the island of Manhattan; some 13 miles (21.6 kilometers).
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In the current iteration of our digital age, Instagram is king. With 1 billion active monthly users, Instagram has become the go-to visual platform for showcasing a wide variety of architectural typologies and styles, city views, and stunning edifices. Since its inception in 2010, the online space has provided constant and continuous inspiration for architects, designers, and lovers of photography. It is an entirely digital architectural community, free of bias, open to all. As Instagram continues to be a vital tool in the field of architecture, we take a look back on the year's 20 most-liked photos posted to our ArchDaily account.
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