Eight teams have been selected to participate in the second stage of an international competition to masterplan a new financial center west of “New Moscow”. Located in Rublyovo-Arkhangelskoye, the 460 hectare mixed-use development will include the construction of offices, housing and hotels, as well as commercial and social infrastructure. 

Ennead Architects / Ennead Lab was recognized for Leading Innovation in Resilient Waterfront Development and named runner-up in the "For a Resilient Rockaway" (FAR ROC) design competition. The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and its affiliates made the announcement on Wednesday at the Arverne East site in the Rockaways. Titled "Fostering Resilient Ecological Development" (F.R.E.D.), Ennead’s submission creates a solution that is not only practical but also replicable for low-lying coastal communities up and down the Atlantic seaboard.

Daniel Libeskind and David Adjaye, along with four other shortlisted teams, are competing to design the National Holocaust Monument in Canada. Planned to be built in a prominent site in the heart of Ottawa, near the Canadian War Museum, the $4.5 million monument is expected for completion in 2015.

Huasen Architects (HSA) have been announced winners of the Fangda Headquarters competition. The winning proposal, located in Shenzhen, China, reshapes the existing site into a 300,000 sqm vortex of retail, office, entertainment and recreation spaces, stemming off a high-tech research and technical development hub. Competition requirements called for the integration of a bus terminal predicated on government officials’ calculations that 55% of users would arrive by bus.

The Russian Green Building Council has shortlisted five teams to continue on with the second stage of the international Park “Russia” competition, which plans to become the largest theme park in Europe. Designed to be a “trademark” for the country in Moscow’s Domodedovo district, the 1000 hectare “Russia” Theme Park aims to merge concepts of healthy living, entertainment and education into one, commercially attractive destination.

The finalists of the 2013 ONE Prize, a competition exploring the social, economic, and ecological possibilities of urban transformation, have just been announced. The 2013 competition focused on severe climate dynamism, calling for innovative and thoughtful design proposals and urban interventions that intend to alleviate storm impact and answer the question: "How can cities adapt to the future challenges of extreme weather?"

Morphosis Architects has been selected from a shortlist of three to design the new U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) chose Morphosis over Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Mack Scogin Merrill Elam with AECOM after conducting a series of presentations and interviews in the third round of the international competition.

Çanakkale, a city of unique urban heritage, is situated on the northwestern coast of Turkey along the Aegean Sea and Dardanelles. The new antenna tower to be designed will be located at the southern outskirt of Çanakkale and will broadcast to the surrounding cities. The site for the proposed tower is on the top of a hill -and within a national forest- providing stunning views of the Dardanelles.

The competition isn't over yet as the jury for the Central Mosque of Pristina Competition has announced two second place prizes and no winner. Organized by the Islamic Community of Kosovo, the competition seeks to create a place "where understanding, humanity, tolerance, respect and sincere love shall be cultivated." Slovenian firm SADAR+VUGA was one of the two teams awarded second prize with their project 21PR22. Follow us after the break to learn more.

Stockholm-based White Arkitekter, along with partners ARUP and Gensler, has been announced as the winner of the two-phase “For a Resilient Rockaway” (FAR ROC) design competition in New York. Selected from a shortlist of four and an international pool of 117, White Arkitekter’s “untraditional” proposal aims to transform an 80-acre shoreline site in the Rockaways into a resilient and affordable community through a series of small interventions that can be tested, adjusted, or redesigned overtime during the development process.

Australian practice Lockhart Krause Architect has entered its proposal "Community and Earth" into an international design competition for a contemporary art gallery and museum of historical artifacts in the world heritage city of Yaroslavl, Russia. Their scheme aims to "provide a vibrant place for the community" and "explores the idea of earth and history by cutting into the ground."

Berlin-based Henn has been chosen as the winner of the architectural competition to design the 280-meter Cenke Tower in Taiyuan. Located on a north-south axis, the mixed-use tower will include office, hotel, and retail space.

In an effort to “feed the world,” penda, in collaboration with Alex Daxboeck, has won first runner-up in the two-stage competition for the Austrian Pavilion at the 2015 Milan Expo. Supporting the Expo’s theme, penda’s proposal plans to be designed and harvested by its visitors, who will plant herbs, vegetables and fruits all over it throughout the duration of the seven-month event. By the end of the Expo, the pavilion will be fully taken over by organic food, which will then be prepared by chefs and served back to the visitors in the Pavilion-Restaurant.

Storefront for Art and Architecture announces a call for proposals for WorldWide Storefront (“WWSF”), a new initiative to provide a simultaneous, multi-locus of alternative spaces around the globe and a digital platform for the expression and exchange of latent desires within contemporary art and architecture practices.

SeARCH has won an invited, international competition for the urban renewal of Marievik. Their winning proposal, STA(CK)HOLM plans to transform an area along one of central Stockholm’s main access roads, opposite the island of Södermalm and facing a new bridge by Norman Foster, into a futuristic sustainable neighborhood.

"People tend to forget that play is serious." - David Hockney

MenoMenoPiu Architects & Paolo Venturella just released their entry for the Alvar Aalto University Otaniemi Campus Competition in Helsinki. Their proposal focuses on the creation of an energy-efficient learning environment that rethinks the traditional courtyard typology. It uses different levels and heights to create a variety of public and private spaces open to both students and inhabitants of the city, all while framing the main Alvar Aalto building.

d3 has announced the winners of its Natural Systems Competition for 2013, an annual award that offers architects, designers, engineers and students the chance to investigate natural processes from the microscopic to macroscopic scale, and propose innovative and nature-based solutions in architecture, urbanism, interiors and product design for sustainable living.