Articles

Designed by Barcode Architects & Habiter Autrement, their proposal for the multi-functional headquarters of Edel AG in Berlin contains a strong mix of program with public functions as an art gallery, café, bookshop and auditorium, versus private functions as the 3000m2 offices for Edel AG and the exclusive penthouses. The 7-storey building is located on the Spandaur Schiffahrts Kanal and will be in the future together with the opposite museum of modern art “Hamburger Bahnhof” and the “Flick Art collection” an important link in the development of the Berlin KunstCampus. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Recently honored in the first edition of the ‘OFF du dévelopment durable’ as ‘sustainable and desirable area’ and awarded in the recent ‘Barème carbone’ Prize, Tekhnê Architects‘ proposal for the Urban Development project of Beausejour ZAC in La Réunion aims to meet a tremendous challenge. It consists in taking an outstanding 80 ha site of sugar cane fields and then conceiving and creating a town that will be loved by its population and will go through time without hindrance, by integrating it into the environmental setting of the 21st century. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Grimshaw Architects shared with us their construction update video on the Reading Station redevelopment, which consists of the existing station facilities being enhanced with two new entrances and by the addition of a new transfer bridge over the tracks, designed to accommodate a 100% uplift in passenger growth. One of the major interchanges of the south east, and one of the busiest stations outside London, it is also the Great Western Main Line’s biggest constraint in terms of performance and capacity in its current form.

With Shenzhen’s Bao’an District an emerging incubator for entrepreneurs and rapidly growing new businesses, FCHA’s second prize winning proposal for the Headquarters Building for Small and Medium Enterprises seeks to establish an inclusive hub for start-up enterprises. This building hopes to maximize the exchange of resources and ideas with the aim of sparking new innovation and collaboration. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Aiming to become a unique destination full of surprise and discovery, the design proposal for the Thaihot City Plaza Mall has a multi-faceted façade that has different functions, in plan and elevation. Designed by Spark Architects, this facade moderates the edges of the building in plan to increase sight lines into the pedestrian street drawing people in, unlike linear streets that fail to hold and capture the pedestrians’ interest. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Taking place February 15-March 31, the 8th Ibero-American Architecture and Urbanism Biennial (VIII BIAU)’s ‘With the Sea in Between’ exhibition will be in the Galeria Boavista in Lisbon. The exhibition, which will also include conferences by keynote speakers, represents a selection of exemplary works of architecture, public spaces, publications and research, rewarded at the VIII BIAU. Attendees will be invited to travel through the architecture of the nine countries rewarded: Brazil, Portugal, Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Chile. For more information, please visit here.

Located in the heart of Valle del Elqui, a narrow valley stretched in between the Andes Mountains in Chile, the Elqui Domos Hotel by architect Rodrigo Duque Motta is known for its wooden-structured cabins that provide translucent fabric domes, enabling an truly unique experience that encourages a close connection with nature. This experience is highlighted in this time lapse video by James Florio, in which he includes over 6 months, 23,000+ photos and 300GB of time-lapse.

Designed by Enota, their just completed Traffic Circle in Podčetrtek marks the entrance to the dark monolithic volume of the municipal sports hall on one and the thermal spa complex on the other side of the regional road. With a primary intent to slow down the traffic in this consequently very busy area, the main accesses to both complexes also connect to the traffic circle. Its design also suggests a tectonic shift that has caused the road surface to bloat and belched out the massive blocks. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Bringing attention to the spaces along the borders of the 10 ASEAN nations, the Borderless Competition aims to improve their existing conditions. While there has been much discussion about achieving a “borderless” condition through economic and legislative intiatives, currently, the actual border spaces themselves have been neglected and are lagging behind these developments. For many people inhabiting these areas, the border remains a place of division and uncertainty.

The ‘I Love, Love, Love : to Build’ Exhibition, which will be on exhibit from February 10 – March 24, offers architects the opportunity to exhibit and share their private thoughts on their production. This series of invitations is in line with the Villa Noailles‘ querying on architects’ roles in our society, on the issues on which they work. Curators Jean-Pierre Blanc and Florence Sarano have simply decided to query each creator on his work: yesterday, today and tomorrow. The lecture by the architects will take place February 10th at 10:00am. For more information, please visit here.

With the aim to create a new and contemporary urban space. the Nanjing Road Mixed Use Area proposal by RTA-Office distributes the volumes on the parcel in order to get an open public space and an intimate one simultaneously. The many passages throughout the 200,000 square-meter project offers walk paths for residents and visitors as it occupies an entire block of the city of Qingdao. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Allies and Morrison Architects were just awarded the Francis Tibbalds Prize for best Practice Project at the National Urban Design Awards 2013 for their District//S project. The prize was presented to the practice at a ceremony held last night at London’s Royal Overseas League. The 452,100 sq ft of high quality residential accommodation situated on the edge of Beirut’s historic city centre impressed the judges with its “comprehensive response to the historic character of Beirut, going well beyond the superficialities of appearance to reflect the cultural and functional nature of the city”. More information after the break.

The Innovation Forum MIPIM recently announced that it will feature the “Porous city – Open the tower” exhibition presented at last year’s Venice Biennale for the first time. Held in Cannes, France from March 12-15, the exhibition uses Lego towers to explore futuristic concepts of urban design imagined by the professor and architect Winy Maas, founder and director of the MVRDV architectural practice in Rotterdam and director of The Why Factory, a research institute for the city of the future. Nine three-meter high skyscrapers will rise up during the four days of the show, acting as visual support to debates on the new processes and the role of research in Europe’s urban future. For more information, including a complete program, please visit here. More images after the break.