Henn recently won the architectural competition for the gas and steam power plant in Wedel, Germany. The new power station is positioned to the north of the river bank to allow the uninterrupted riverside promenade passage open to the public. While the majority of the existing station has been demolished, individually striking industrial relics and architecturally significant elements, such as the listed machine hall, are retained and put to cultural use. More images and architects' description after the break.
Architecture emerges with every "occupy" movement or protest. From whatever meager resources at hand, occupiers create structures to fulfill very specific purposes - from makeshift tents for sleeping, to instant podiums for speaking, or perhaps even a swing to kill the time. Unfortunately, these architectures are, by their very nature, fleeting: often disappearing instantly the moment the occupation ends.
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sand map detail / Courtesy of Gena Wirth + Alex Chohlas-Wood and Ben Mendelsohn
Designed by Gena Wirth, with Alex Chohlas-Wood and Ben Mendelsohn, their 'Protective Ecologies: Building Resilience in Jamaica Bay' proposal for the MOMA PS1 Rockaway Call for Ideas was recently announced as one of the selected entries. Their concept explores how constructed ecosystems could function as coastal infrastructure in the severely damaged neighborhoods of Jamaica Bay and the Rockaways. More images and architects' description after the break.
Image by Tom Morris, March 2012, based on the 'We Can Do It!' poster created by J. Howard Miller in 1942 for the U.S. War Production Coordinating Committee, as part of the homefront mobilization campaign during World War II. [Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, via Design Observer
Today, KCRW's Design & Architecture will air a podcast on the topic of "Forgetting Women Architects." The show will feature ArchDaily columnist Guy Horton's interview with Denise Scott Brown as well as a conversation based on Despina Stratigakos' fantastic article for Design Observer, "Unforgetting Women Architects: From the Pritzker to Wikipedia." In the article, Stratigakos describes how women continue to be edited out of architecture history and calls for us to "unforget" them by including their stories in online resources such as wikipedia. You can listen to the podcast here.
Curated by Charles Waldheim, Ruettgers Consulting Curator of Landscape, the 'Composite Landscapes: Photomontage and Landscape Architecture' exhibition opens this Thursday, June 27th, at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Examining the montage view, one of landscape architecture's most recognizable representational forms, the exhibit gathers work from a select group of influential contemporary artists and a dozen of the world's leading landscape architects. These composite views reveal practices of photomontage depicting the conceptual, experiential, and temporal dimensions of landscape. The exhibit runs until September 2nd. For more information, please visit here.
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Noise De-Former final model (photo: Elif Erdine)
A few weeks ago, the AA Visiting School academic program was held in Istanbul and Athens. The program combines theory and practice, in an intensive workshop using computational tools as well as digital fabrication machines in a fully contextualised architectural problematic.
Organized by Polis, platform for Urbanism, the third edition of Urbanism Week will take place October 8-11 at TU Delft; University of Technology, the Netherlands. A yearly conference, the event aims to understand the perspectives, practices and trends in the field. This year’s Urbanism Week explores the influence of big companies on the city and the design of urban lifestyles. Hoping to link students with the professional field, the four- day program will find new ways of approaching different infrastructure aspects and new practices dealing with the globalized world. This also includes new urban structures and new urban players are going to be designated. For more information, please visit here.
Located in the small Latvian town of Bauska, the composition of this winning proposal for the library was dictated by low-rise surrounding buildings and the wish to save valuable heritage on the site – old trees and historical building. In order to harmonically integrate into the environment, A2SM Architects decided to divide the building into a few small volumes instead of a single large building. More images and architects‘ description after the break.
Opening tomorrow, June 25th through September 29th at BSA Space, the 'Reprogramming the City: Opportunities for Urban Infrastructure' exhibition celebrates more than 40 examples of imaginative reuse, repurposing and reimagining of urban infrastructure, from physical objects to the city’s most functional systems and surfaces. Curated by Scott Burnham, the new exhibition presents a global overview to serve alternate and expanded functions for urban dwellers and visitors. Featured exhibits will include numerous videos, photos, media stations, renderings, and models. For more information, please visit here. More images after the break.
With the main goal of facing the challenges of recovery in the coastal urban neighborhoods of the Rockaways, the 'Resilient Rockaways' proposal by Brennan Baxley takes precedents from dune formation and creation. In doing so, their concept provides a local opportunity to defend the coastline while aiding in the recreational and participatory design of dunes. Building with nature, small infrastructure, and community effort, the design encourages social resiliency as well as promote a healthy shoreline. More images and architects' description after the break.
Designed by WE Architecture, their proposal for the future town hall of Tønder draws a discreet profile in the landscape,that will stand out as a landmark in the city. The building aims to strengthen the character of Tønder, emphasize the story of the marshes, and will be the starting point for tourists traveling and exploring the Danish wetland nature. The new town hall is not just an expansion, but a link between marsh on one side and the existing City Hall and Slotsbanken on the other side. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The Incubator Matrix: Live/Work/Play proposal for the Redesigning Detroit: A New Vision for an Iconic Site competition consists of a facility for a new industrial ecosystem to revitalize downtown Detroit. Designed by H Architecture, their design is a live/work station for high-tech start-up companies and creative young artists to continuously challenge each other and spark innovation. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The ‘Far Rockaway: Accommodating Nature’ proposal by archedesign for the MOMA PS1 Rockaway Call for Ideas accommodates nature, instead of fighting it. Selected as one of the winning entries, the concept both creates a more fluid connection between the urban neighborhood and the surrounding water, and helps to minimize future environmental damage. It does this by re-purposing the concrete structures remaining from the dilapidated boardwalk, and creating pathways that will channel surge water to flow between the ocean and the bay. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Presented by AIA New York, the Densify discussion is set to take place June 26th from 6:45pm-8:30pm EST at the Center for Architecture. The event looks at proposals for Manhattan’s Midtown East, that could significantly increase land use intensity at Manhattan’s densest urban core, and Micro-housing that will significantly decrease the allowable dwelling size in New York City. The program will also include interviews with the Renzo Piano Building Workshop on high-rise mix-use development in London, focusing on the Shard, and comparisons between Micro-housing in NYC and Asian precedents. For more information, please visit here.
Focusing on key projects and using previously unseen archival material, drawings and personal items, the 'Richard Rogers RA: Inside Out' exhibition will explore Roger's career, from the influence of his Italian family to his impact on how we experience cities today. From July 18-October 13 at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, visitors will gain an unprecedented insight into this leader of modern design. This blend of political, social and ethical concerns, as well as popular culture, technology, art and urbanism is manifest not only in his architecture, but also in his roles as a speaker, writer, politician and activist. For more information, please visit here.
Vanity Fair reports that Developer Robbie Antonio’s OMA-designed “Stealth,” a $15 million private residence/art gallery in Manila will be completed by the end of the month. The home is a series of stacked, irregular boxes with rooftop pool and waterfall.
Phase 1 of the new Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX, the largest public works project in the history of Los Angeles, has been completed. The new airport, designed by Fentress Architects to be a LEED-certified landmark for the city, will feature a flowing, ocean-inspired roofline, a three-story,150,000-square-foot Great Hall, and one of the most advanced multimedia Integrated Environmental Media Systems (IEMS) in the world. The $1.5 billion project has been funded solely from LAX’s operating revenues, without public funds.
Taking place June 27 - August 2, Gagosian Gallery, in collaboration with Renzo Piano Foundation and generously supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, 'Fragments' is an exhibition of more than thirty years of architectural projects by the Renzo Piano Building Workshop.Equal parts library reading room, school classroom, and natural history gallery, the exhibition consists of twenty-four tabletop displays of scale models, drawings, photographs, and video. Each tells the involved, inspiring story of the design process of a single building, from museums, libraries, and airports to private residences. More information on the exhibition after the break.