The idea behind the proposal for the Central Mosque of Pristina comes from the first religious needs and the study of the earliest styles of mosque architecture in Kosovo. Designed by Maden GROUP, the concept is to convey tradition through contemporary architecture while combining in the best mode of architecture and religious rules. Therefore, the architects developed in geometric foundations, by combining simple geometrical elements. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Located in a strategic point in Heiden, where different urban conditions come together, the Hotel Park and Seeallee Heiden proposal is shaped by the surrounding landscape. The landscape continuity crossing the plot area, the particular building density, and its relevant position from the main entrance to the city are all used to achieve a perfect urban integration. Designed by Kubota & Bachmann Architects + Martinez, this strategy enhances the environmental qualities, while staying within the strict respect of urban regulations. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Designed by Tomoon Architects & Engineers, in collaboration with Ison Architects, their second prize winning proposal for the Sejong Art Center is a cultural center for opera, music, dance, drama, art exhibitions, cinema, and all types of formal and informal performances. With a total program area of approx. 11,000 square meters, the architects proposed that all of the program elements be brought together into a single mass made as compact as possible, maximizing functionality and efficiency, while conserving open space. More images and architects’ description after the break. The center is composed of an opera house with 800 seats, a flexible black box theater with 300 seats, a cinema theater with 400 seats, an art gallery, a cultural center, a VIP lounge, a cafe and a restaurant. In addition there are other necessary spaces such as rehearsal rooms and administration offices, as well as parking. All of the major public spaces are accessed by a single common lobby which acts as an elevated platform and frame, providing views on one side to the city, and on the other, to the central park and the landscape beyond. The walls of the common lobby are glazed from floor to ceiling and sheathed in a metal mesh, so all of the pre-concert and concert activities can be seen from inside and outside, creating a visually rich dynamic environment for both audience and passersby. Also, because the art gallery, cultural center, café and restaurant are in close proximity, this ensures that the common lobby and all foyer areas will be used all throughout the day and into the evening. The compact building mass means that a variety of open and green spaces can be designed around the building. The northwest facing main entry plaza contains water features to attract people coming from the city. In addition the main entry stairs form a grand backdrop leading to the magnificent view of the opera house, the black box theater, and the cinema behind the glazed common lobby wall. The east facing rear plaza is more informal and park-like and is designed so that it can accommodate a wide variety of outdoor performances in addition to providing wide scenic views of the park and surrounding landscape. The north entry plaza is conceived as a vibrant café / cultural plaza. The opera house is in the shape of the classic horseshoe which provides excellent acoustics and good sightlines from all areas of the hall. The black box theater has been designed for good acoustics and for maximum flexibility in stage and seating configurations to accommodate a variety of performance settings and events. The Sejong Art Center is a culture center for the 21st century, bringing a state-of-the-art cultural facility to Sejong City that is a new symbol for the new city. It is a place to enjoy and contemplate culture, the city and nature, and provides a wonderful place for relaxation and enjoyment for all people and citizens. Architects: Tomoon Architects & Engineers, in collaboration with Ison Architects Location : Nasung-dong, Sejong, South Korea Project Architects: Cha Yong-wook, Son Jin Project Manager: Choi Jae-won Project Team: Shin Eun-ho, Choi Jong-bae, Peter Oh, Lee Joon-ho, Lee Doo-hyeong, Lee Woo-joo, Choi Min-wook Acoustics: OSD Engineering & Consulting Stage: TSD STAGE Structural Engineers: Hyung-sang Engineering Mechanical Engineers: Sahm-shin Engineers Electricity / Telecommunication: Young-Kwang Enginneering CG: 3D Focus Architectural Model: OPUS Site Area: 43,493㎡ Building Area: 11,009㎡ Gross Area: 15,205㎡ Structure: Reinforced Concrete + Steel Structure Material: White Tile, Metal Fabric, Wood, Stone Total Stories: 4 Floors Parking: 354 Project Period: December 2012 – March 2013
With a vision to create the “workplace of the future”, developer Danica Pension has teamed up with Henning Larsen Architects, COWI and Alectia to design a state-of-the-art, yet modest Microsoft headquarters in the new urban district of Lyngby, Copenhagen. Unlike many of the recent corporate headquarters making headlines in Silicon Valley, this Danish complex is unique for it’s central urban site and primary goal of serving the community.
Set for completion in 2014, Winnipeg’s “Flying Saucer” condominium project 62M, designed by Winnipeg-based studio 5468796 Architecture, will occupy the corner of MacDonald Avenue and Waterfront Drive, close to the Exchange District. Named after its address, 62M will be a two-storey, circular building lifted up on 35-foot stilts. Its circular design is spatially efficient and will provide each unit with a view. As a whole, the 360° plan provides the widest possible perimeter for glass with the smallest amount of exterior envelope to construct. More images and architects' description after the break.
Following OAC’s win in the international design competition and completion of the master plan for the Famen Temple Zen Meditation Center in 2012, the architects recently completed the schematic designs for the buildings, landscape, and experiential features and art installations for meditation in the first phase of the project called the ‘Eightfold Path Forest’. As part of the new cultural master plan development on the site of the renowned 1,800 year-old Famen Buddhist Temple (aka Dharma Gate Temple) outside Xi’an, China, this project is one of the largest architectural and landscape commissions in the world focused around an historic religious temple.More images and architects' description after the break.
Designed by Gil Even-Tsur Architecture Workshop, their concept for the new National Library suggests that the architecture should be critical, strong, but also deferential and contextually responsive. Their intent is to display an almost aesthetic neutrality in terms of its form, assemblies, and materials by providing an architecture that acknowledges this complexity. More images and architects’ description after the break.
1MDB (1Malaysia Development Berhad) has just appointed Broadway Malyan to partner with local planner Arah Rancang Malaysia to create a game-changing masterplan for Bandar Malaysia, Malaysia. Supported by world-class design and engineering teams from Arup and Sinclair Knight Merz, the 196-hectare Bandar Malaysia is envisioned to be one of the most desirable environments to live, learn, work and play in the Asian region. The strategic real estate development project aims to combine a vibrant mixed-use community with a commercial district to foster creativity and innovation. More images and architects' description after the break. The winning team was selected from a total of six finalists based on concept proposals which perfectly captures the essence of 1MDB’s vision and commitment for a mixed-use development that will help transform Kuala Lumpur into one of the world’s best global cities. Bandar Malaysia will be an international destination for culture and the arts showcasing Malaysia’s diverse culture. It will be an inclusive, public transit-oriented city that is designed as a walkable community through a series of safe, secure and pleasant pedestrian and cycling networks, set against a backdrop of well-articulated open spaces and greenery. As part of 1MDB’s commitment towards providing affordable housing, Bandar Malaysia aims to be the yardstick for sustainable and affordable urban housing within Malaysia. 1MDB Real Estate Sdn Bhd Chief Executive Officer Dato’ Azmar Talib said: “The winning design best represents 1MDB’s vision and fundamentals for the development of Bandar Malaysia. Broadway Malyan and Arah Rancang Malaysia’s concept masterplan provides a strong foundation for the next stage, which is to further develop Bandar Malaysia to become the benchmark for sustainability and liveability in the region, in line with the national vision of making Kuala Lumpur the world’s top 20 most liveable cities by 2020.
Organically revealing itself from the ground, the Crone Partners' winning design for the Orange Regional Museum aims to respectfully integrate a new building and program to the existing cultural precinct. Additionally, the architects intend to create a new identity whilst strengthening current civic conditions within the site. More images and architects’ description after the break.
HOBRO – a city finds its lake, is the 1st prize winning proposal by Holscher Arkitekter, which aims to tie the historical center of Hobro to the harbor area. The philosophy behind the strategy is that the urban and landscape spaces are created first, then the streets and at last, the buildings. The architects wish to create a robust frame for a long lasting urban development. A strategy that allows the urban plan to exert itself and be experienced as completed in all phases of the development. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Upon recently winning the competition, MVRDV's design for the Hongqiao Business District recently started construction. The plan comprises ten office towers, an underground shopping center, cultural program, parking and a sunken plaza which will bring a more intimate form of urban life into an area currently dominated by large boulevards and urban expressway’s. Located near the fourth busiest airport in all of mainland China, the 4.5ha site is divided into a small northern plot of 8,409 m2 and a larger southern plot. More images and architects' description after the break.
Situated in the very center of the historical town core, the Novo mesto central market feels somewhat removed today, being separated by its level and oriented towards the low-quality city space of Florjanov Square. Therefore, one of the basic guidelines for locating the new central market into the space must be to create the best possible entrance from the main square. Designed by Enota, the backbone of the new central market is formed by the covered Market Street, which lies on the level of main city square and connects the two spots closest to it on both access streets.
With the intention of restructuring the school complex in the city of Sion, the starting point for OVERCODE was to conceive a compact building deploying a strategy of economy of means and space. Consisting of a school extension, new nursery and new gymnasium, their urban strategy spins around the idea of closing and opening the site at the same time. More images and architects’ description after the break.
ATENASTUDIO, in collaboration with Archmaster studio, has developed a masterplan for a new district in Wuxi, China, which takes a 200,000 sqm buildable zoning lot to present two main keywords which are the base of all design choices and that can be defined as generator elements of all the project: landscape and waterscape. The intention is to emphasize to the maximum the presence of water making it become a diffuse system, introducing it inside the area and in every part of the project, and using it as if it was a “3D liquid material”. More images and architects' description after the break.
Raum Architects shared with us their recent project titled 'Neither Cloud nor Rock', an art installation for the National Institute of Agricultural Research in Nancy. The piece covers an exterior area intended to people who work there, opposite to the restaurant. It protects researchers from rain and sun. The object floats, clinging to the trees, and moves with them. More images and architects' description after the break.
Woodhead recently won the commission against three other international design, engineering and contractor teams to be the lead designer of architecture and interiors for the new 380,000m2, 25 million passenger Terminal 3 at Soekarno Hatta International Airport in Jakarta. The terminal is for Garuda’s expanding international and domestic fleet of aircraft and is a model of efficiency and comfort overlaid with the curation of Indonesia’s unique cultural and environmental experiences for passengers. Construction is due to be completed and the new terminal building fully operational by the close of 2015. More images and architects' description after the break.
ASPECT Studios, in collaboration with Choi Ropiha Fighera, Barbara Flynn Grounds, ARUP, Deuce Design and People for Places and Spaces, was recently selected as one of five finalists by the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in a design competition for Alumni Park. In an effort to reconnect the University’s spatial hierarchy and movement patterns, the architects provide clearly articulated wayfinding and circulation routes with the new 2ha ‘Social Spine’. More images and architects' description after the break.
The TechTown District Plan by Sasaki Associates articulates an inspiring vision for the revitalization of the district. An emerging knowledge district in Midtown Detroit, this town is currently characterized by surface parking, vacant properties, and inward-facing, siloed hubs of activity. The architects' concept, however, aims to accelerate innovation, promote entrepreneurship, and build community around the generation of ideas in a vibrant, mixed-use setting. More images and architects' description after the break.
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Facing a scientific, technical, environmental, human, symbolic and geo-political challenge, a simple and efficient strategy that could respond to all needs and goals should be developed. It needed a principle that integrates security, flexibility and modularity and that could provide comfort, thermal or acoustic, but, above all, quality of life for users.
More information after the break.
The main purpose of Beijiao Sports Center is to serve the surrounding neighbourhoods, thus it was extremely important to design it as a multi-functional and friendly place. The typical image of traditional sports architecture is abandoned, in place for an activity space full of energy during or after sports events, both day and night. The intent of the architecture is to create a community space for activity, one that enlivens its immediate vicinities.
Designed by APTUM Architecture, their proposal for the Central Mosque of Pristina, titled MI’RAJ, is about a journey of ascension to prayer and the spatial experience that evolves. As the ascension to prayer begins, a sequence of events unfolds. As a result of the Islamic community of Pristina searching for a unifying symbol and identity that can bring together many disparate mosques scattered throughout the city, the proposal harnesses that need and brings together a sense of place and provides public space for the greater good of the community. More images and architects' description after the break.
The proposal for Healthy Urbanism is a collaboration between a visionary client, a health scientist and ISA - Interface Studio Architects to investigate the potential for health outcomes to influence large-scale neighborhood and building design. The consulting team developed a conceptual tool in order to bring spatial design and health outcomes into communication with one another. “The Matrix” is a key proposal of the work which creates a bridge between health-related research and literature, factors, health impacts, program, and design parameters. More images and architects' description after the break.
With the advent of the High Line and the recent announcement about Chicago's Bloomingdale Trail, it's becoming clear that the 'parkway' is a powerful new force in urban planning, which has the potential to change the way cities around the world function. A new project in Pittsburgh seeks to harness these possibilities, as the city's history of industry has left its stamp upon the city in the form of a rusting industrial riverfront. A plan by Saski Associates envisages re-using this space to create a green belt, tying the city closer together. By adding pedestrian, cycling and light-rail transport routes, and creating plenty of green spaces, they hope to tap Pittsburgh's unrealized potential to be a river-front city, while encouraging geographical and social closeness amongst its communities.
More images and the architect’s description after the break…
Designed by Taller 301 and Land+Civilization Compositions, their main idea for the Central Mosque of Pristina is to re-interpret the elements that constitute the Mosque, without pushing the limits of the already established principles of Islamic Architecture. Located in Kosovo, a country rich in tradition and has confronted tough issues in recent years, the project intends to look back, and to see the way forward. More images and architects’ description after the break.