Titled 'Between earth and sky', this proposal for the new Gateway of Shenzhen Southern University of Science and Technology by penda is a metaphor of formal contrasts to design a campus landmark. Their design for an entrance sculpture at the University is a connection of 2 opposites: the fluid, lower part connects the gate to the gentle hills of the landscape in the background and carries a grid of lights, which can be seen as a connection to the cosmos - a contrast of the earth and the sky. More images and architects' description after the break.

Construction has begun on OMA’s competition-winning proposal for the BMVR (Bibliothèque Multimédia à Vocation Régionale) Library in northern France. Located at the tip of a peninsula in an old industrial port area of Caen, the 13,000 square meter public library is shaped by four protruding wings that point towards four of the city’s landmarks: l'Abbaye aux Hommes, l'Abbaye aux Dames, the train station to the south and a new urban development to the west.

More on BMVR after the break...

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Recently chosen as one of the selected entries for the MOMA PS1 Rockaway Call for Ideas, the 'Occupy the Dune' proposal by Balmori Associates focuses on an infrastructure as the center for civic activity, protecting the community while connecting it socially and ecologically. Vegetation that colonizes the dunes surface is the most critical part of the ecosystem, adding strength and stability to blunt extreme winds and storm surge. More images and architects' description after the break.

3XN just won the first prize in the international competition for their design of the new building for the technical faculty of the German university Duale Hochschule Baden-Württemberg (DHBW). With their vision to create an open, inspiring and social learning environment, the building is to be a lighthouse project for academic learning - an innovative and productive learning environment in which students, teachers and industry representatives can meet. More images and architects' description after the break.

In an attempt to transform Calgary’s corporate-centric downtown into a walkable, dynamic community, TELUS has commissioned BIG to design a mixed-use skyscraper in the heart of the Canadian city. Known as TELUS Sky, the 750,000 square foot tower is designed to “seamlessly accommodate the transformation from working to living as the tower takes off from the ground to reach the sky.”

Sitbon Architectes shared with us their proposal for a leisure center in the Dead Sea which was recently awarded the 1st prize for the "Best unbuilt competition entry" as well as the "People's choice winner" of the international competition AZ Awards 2013. Titled 'Cristal – The Dead Sea Gem,' the purpose of their design is to sensitize people to the interpretation of its specific nature. Like a sculpture, its volume is inspired by the salt cube structure, the symbol of the Dead Sea. All the steps remind us consequences of time. It means that we need to take care of everything: our body, our mind, our environment. More images and architects' description after the break.

Rocco Design Architects Ltd., in collaboration with Gravity Partnership Ltd. and Wang Weijen Architecture, recently won the international competition for the new campus for the Chinese University of Hong Kong in Shenzhen. Currently in construction, the planning concept for the new campus is “Academic Clusters, Campus Green and Natural Terrain”. Phase one of the campus is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2015. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Located inside Chengdu East village, Aedas recently unveiled their ice mountain-inspired design for the Greenland Group Chengdu East Village CBED Plots. Comprised of office, retail, residential spaces and a 486-meter-high tower, the design stayed in line with the ice mountain concept, which expands to the continuity of the mountain range and landscape terrain with fissures located on the foot of the mountain. More images and architects’ description after the break.

In response to MoMA PS1's call for new ideas for rebuilding in the Rockaways after Hurricane Sandy, the 71% proposal by Reddymade Design + Horns and Tails Productions was one of the selected entries which suggests ways in which uncontrollable natural phenomena might be absorbed by the environment to create a balanced system of landscape, infrastructure, and architecture. A multi-layered proposal, it suggests several lines of defense and integration. More images and architects' description after the break.

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Aiming to connect Haifa with the sea, the proposal for the New Haifa Waterfront Plan by Amir Mann-Ami Shinar Architects and Planners focuses on the making of large open public space along the water. Some new "warehouse-like" linear structures will be built, only two-story high, and all buildings, old and new, will maintain industrial character. Also, with the old cranes, the overhead grain-conveyers and other working port facilities will keep the unique port atmosphere. More images and architects’ description after the break.

NC-Office shared with us their 'Floating Plaza' proposal for the competition that called for the urban concept and architectural design and development of Sveta Nedelya Square, in the city of Sofia. The main strategy for the project is to provide a clearly defined plaza for congregation in the heart of Sofia. To achieve this, the architects propose a plane which “peels” away from the north side of Sveta Nedelya Church and floats over Boulevard Vitosha. This ‘plane’ alludes to the historical use of that area of ancient Serdika. More images and architects' description after the break.

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In response to the MOMA PS1 Rockaway Call for Ideas, ‘The Water Dyke’ proposal, which was one of the selected entries, focused not only on rebuilding the boardwalk, but on creating the boardwalk as a community gathering place and a functional infrastructure to protect the shoreline. Designed by Sorg Architects, their concept of the Water Dyke is to harness water itself to retain a storm surge and thereby the shoreline from damaging floods. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The Spanish architecture team, formed by el fabricante de espheras + Espai MGR + A&G Proyectos y Desarrollos, just won the first prize in the Ideas Competition for the new Kaluga’s Sports and Youth Palace in Russia. The project consists of a sports infrastructure, commercial galleries and hotel rooms designed to be based on innovation and high technology architecture. This winning concept is explained as a flower that protects from the cold of the city of Kaluga and contains a set of spaces for sport, leisure, tourism and relax. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Conceived as a space to house expressions of the rich contemporary and Mexican gastronomic culture, Mercado Roma gives special emphasis to the sense of community and collaboration. Designed by Rojkind Arquitectos and conceptualized by Cadena + Asoc. Concept Design, the space is created to gather selected partners and vendors so they can offer their best products. The space is also designed to favor encounters, exchanges, interactions and relationships making the experience a more meaningful one.

Located at the threshold of one of New South Wales’ most beautiful cities, Wollongong, the Bass and Flinders Gateway Project marks the first project in Australia by Spark Architects. The project consists of a 300 unit residential development supported by a modicum of commercial space. The project currently is going through the planning process and is scheduled to start construction in 2015. More images and architects' description after the break.

One of the selected entries in the MOMA PS1 Rockaway Call for Ideas, the 'Occupy Infrastructure' proposal by Barkow Leibinger Architects is three-fold. The main idea is to construct a network of retaining berms based on priority and need with local materials and by the communities that they protect. These berms are not continuous (like a wall) but overlap to allow beach access, gateways, and to maintain visual and spatial openness and continuity between beaches and neighborhoods. More images and architects' description after the break.

Designed by HYHW Architects and Planners, the local development strategy and strategic focus of the Madong Masterplan is aimed at building upon history, automotive culture, sports culture, encouraging advances in manufacturing and modern services, with cultural charmand continual innovation in a technologically advanced green city. Serviced by a highway to the North and with Jiading Forest to the South-West, it benefits from convenient transport connections and the close proximity to the ecological landscape. More images and architects’ description after the break.

With arts and culture at the core of Taichung’s urban identity, and the vision to lead in innovation and technology, this design proposal by RMJM seeks to bring together these significant attributes in a building emblematic of Taichung’s achievements and vision. Located at the corner of Taichung Gateway Park, the project becomes an urban oasis and a vital link between existing communities and future urban development, providing a social and cultural focus and an arrival gateway to the park. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Situated in the middle of the iron-copper-gold polymetallic metallogenic belt of the middle-lower reaches of the Yangtze River, Waa's winning entry for the Tonglin City Planning Exhibition Center houses the future aspirations for future generations. Focusing on their design through 'Making', they found inspiration of architectural language in the process of fabrication in this regions mining industry. More images and architects' description after the break.

Taking its name from the elevation above which the city is safe from floods, The '28+' proposal by Michael Sorkin Studio for the MOMA PS1 Rockaway Call for Ideas is a habitable levee. Not simply does it allow the protection – and selective replacement – of buildings otherwise at risk, it actually increases the stock of waterfront residences and commercial spaces and improves public transit connections to the rest of the city. More images and architects' description after the break.

Brigham and Women’s Hospital just broke ground last week on the Brigham Building for the Future, a 620,000 square-foot translational research and clinical facility designed by NBBJ. Located on the hospital’s Longwood campus, the 11-story project will house eight floors of research laboratories, three floors of clinics, a state-of-the-art imaging facility, social spaces, and a 400-car garage, along with associated site improvements. More images and architects' description after the break.

Located in Toender, a city in southern Denmark, close to the Danish and German border, the new City hall extension by HAO (Holm Architecture Office) + Sebastian Misiurek is designed to optimize interior flexible space while taking full advantage of the beautiful landscape that surrounds it. Integrating a high degree of spatial flexibility, this enables the building to programmatically change over time, and incorporates a number of informal work and meeting spaces. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Designed by PINKCLOUD, their 'Pop-Up Hotel' proposal was recently selected as the winning entry in the 2013 Radical Innovation in Hospitality competition. Their concept focuses on the transformation of empty Class A office spaces into hospitality spaces through a simple setup. They intend to partner with various owner/leasing agencies around Midtown in Manhattan to identify buildings in need of revitalization. A uniquely urban experience, the Pop-Up hotel will feature a variety of amenities and rooms catering to a wide diversity of clientele. More images and architects' description after the break.

A gigantic installation work by Tomás Saraceno, entitled “in orbit,” was just assembled last week in the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Germany. At a height of more than 20 meters above the piazza of the K21 Ständehaus, Saraceno has suspended a net construction within which visitors can move, apparently weightlessly. Saraceno’s net construction, which is accessible on three levels, resembles a cloud landscape: those bold enough to clamber high into the web set beneath the glass cupola perceive the museum visitors far below them from the lofty heights as tiny figures in a model world. The installation will be up until September 7th. More images and architects' description after the break.