Somali Architecture Students Digitally Preserve Their Country's Heritage—Before It's Too Late

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Somali Architecture Students Digitally Preserve Their Country's Heritage—Before It's Too Late - Featured Image
via Somali Architecture

Since the start of civil war in 1991, the political and architectural landscapes of the East African country of Somalia have been unstable. While the country’s urban centers, such as the capital city Mogadishu, boast a diverse fabric of historic mosques, citadels, and monuments alongside modernist civic structures, the decades of conflict have resulted in the destruction of many important structures. And, while the fighting has substantially subsided in recent years, the future of the country's architectural heritage is still far from secure.

In response, Somali architecture students from across the UK, Italy, and the United States have banded together to form Somali Architecture, an ongoing research project archiving and digitally "rebuilding" iconic structures through 3D models. Their goal is “to preserve the identity and authenticity” of Somalia through its architecture—both existing and destroyed. “We want each iconic building of the past to be reinterpreted for a more coherent future,” they say.

See below for a selection of the structures Somali Architecture has uncovered and re-constructed so far.

Es Carnatge House / Miel Arquitectos

Es Carnatge House / Miel Arquitectos - Houses
Cortesía de Miel Arquitectos

Es Carnatge House / Miel Arquitectos - HousesEs Carnatge House / Miel Arquitectos - HousesEs Carnatge House / Miel Arquitectos - HousesEs Carnatge House / Miel Arquitectos - HousesEs Carnatge House / Miel Arquitectos - More Images+ 13

Can Pastilla, Spain
  • Architects: Miel Arquitectos
  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  205
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2013

In China, an Experimental Pavilion of Ceramic Bricks Fuses Craftsmanship and Digital Fabrication

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Uniting the material intelligence of vernacular crafts with the precision and flexibility provided by the new digital design and manufacturing technologies, the Robotic Fabrication LAB of The Faculty of Architecture of HKU has developed the CeramicINformation Pavilion, with the objective of finding suitable levels of automation to be used for emerging and transitioning economies.

Part of an evolving series, each of its 1,000 components is unique and relates specifically to its neighboring units. The elements are constructed through 3D printing and are made of terracotta brick, a material commonly used in modern Chinese construction.

New Showroom and Storage Facilities / Jereb in Budja arhitekti

New Showroom and Storage Facilities / Jereb in Budja arhitekti - Showroom, Facade
© Blaž Budja

New Showroom and Storage Facilities / Jereb in Budja arhitekti - Showroom, Facade, Beam, Column, LightingNew Showroom and Storage Facilities / Jereb in Budja arhitekti - Showroom, Facade, Door, Stairs, HandrailNew Showroom and Storage Facilities / Jereb in Budja arhitekti - Showroom, Facade, CoastNew Showroom and Storage Facilities / Jereb in Budja arhitekti - Showroom, Garden, FacadeNew Showroom and Storage Facilities / Jereb in Budja arhitekti - More Images+ 21

Dolenja Vas pri Čatežu, Slovenia

Skanderbeg Square in Skopje / qb Arkitektura + BINA + Besian Mehmeti Architects

Skanderbeg Square in Skopje / qb Arkitektura + BINA + Besian Mehmeti Architects - Public SpaceSkanderbeg Square in Skopje / qb Arkitektura + BINA + Besian Mehmeti Architects - Public SpaceSkanderbeg Square in Skopje / qb Arkitektura + BINA + Besian Mehmeti Architects - Public SpaceSkanderbeg Square in Skopje / qb Arkitektura + BINA + Besian Mehmeti Architects - Public SpaceSkanderbeg Square in Skopje / qb Arkitektura + BINA + Besian Mehmeti Architects - More Images+ 19

  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  9500
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2017
  • Manufacturers Brands with products used in this architecture project
    Manufacturers:  AKE Asansör Sistemleri, GES (German Electro-Mechatronic Systems), Konstantin Grcic

YKH Associates HQ in Seoul / YKH Associates

YKH Associates HQ in Seoul / YKH Associates - Institutional Buildings, Facade, Door, Arch, ColumnYKH Associates HQ in Seoul / YKH Associates - Institutional Buildings, Door, Facade, Column, ChairYKH Associates HQ in Seoul / YKH Associates - Institutional Buildings, FacadeYKH Associates HQ in Seoul / YKH Associates - Institutional Buildings, FacadeYKH Associates HQ in Seoul / YKH Associates - More Images+ 43

A Draped Wall in Ikebukuro / Tailored design Lab

A Draped Wall in Ikebukuro  / Tailored design Lab - Houses Interiors, HandrailA Draped Wall in Ikebukuro  / Tailored design Lab - Houses Interiors, Arch, DoorA Draped Wall in Ikebukuro  / Tailored design Lab - Houses Interiors, Kitchen, Facade, Beam, Table, ChairA Draped Wall in Ikebukuro  / Tailored design Lab - Houses InteriorsA Draped Wall in Ikebukuro  / Tailored design Lab - More Images+ 9

  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  73
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2017
  • Manufacturers Brands with products used in this architecture project
    Manufacturers:  Koizumi, Lixil Corporation, Sanwa, Silent Gliss, Toto

Rosewood Sanya and Sanya Forum / Goettsch Partners

Rosewood Sanya and Sanya Forum / Goettsch Partners - Hotels, FacadeRosewood Sanya and Sanya Forum / Goettsch Partners - Hotels, Facade, CityscapeRosewood Sanya and Sanya Forum / Goettsch Partners - HotelsRosewood Sanya and Sanya Forum / Goettsch Partners - Hotels, Facade, CityscapeRosewood Sanya and Sanya Forum / Goettsch Partners - More Images+ 13

Sanya, China

Canada House Dublin / Powerhouse Company

Canada House Dublin / Powerhouse Company - Offices InteriorsCanada House Dublin / Powerhouse Company - Interior Photography, Offices Interiors, Chair, TableCanada House Dublin / Powerhouse Company - Offices InteriorsCanada House Dublin / Powerhouse Company - Offices InteriorsCanada House Dublin / Powerhouse Company - More Images+ 11

  • Architects: Powerhouse Company
  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  6500
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2017
  • Manufacturers Brands with products used in this architecture project
    Manufacturers:  Tom Dixon, Duracryl, Fabbian, Flos, Kvadrat, +3
  • Professionals: Mac Interiors

Altneuhaus – Extension of a Holiday Home / Roland Unterbusch Architekt

Altneuhaus – Extension of a Holiday Home / Roland Unterbusch Architekt - Houses, Facade, Door, ForestAltneuhaus – Extension of a Holiday Home / Roland Unterbusch Architekt - Houses, Bedroom, Door, LightingAltneuhaus – Extension of a Holiday Home / Roland Unterbusch Architekt - Houses, Garden, Facade, DoorAltneuhaus – Extension of a Holiday Home / Roland Unterbusch Architekt - Houses, Garden, FacadeAltneuhaus – Extension of a Holiday Home / Roland Unterbusch Architekt - More Images+ 13

Dierhagen, Germany
  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  40
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2017
  • Manufacturers Brands with products used in this architecture project
    Manufacturers:  RHEINZINK, KOWA, SEMCOGLAS, Steico

Adjaye Associates Transform Electrical Switching Station Into Empowering Art Wall

Adjaye Associates has unveiled images of its proposed reconceptualization of the protective façade of an electrical switching station into an engaging “Art Wall” in Newark, New Jersey. The 30-foot-high walls of the Fairmount Heights switching station will be transformed into a canvas for original works of 14 local and international artists, exploring themes of youth, education, and community, while a canopied passageway will house a market, art installations, and gathering space.

Adjaye Associates Transform Electrical Switching Station Into Empowering Art Wall - Image 1 of 4Adjaye Associates Transform Electrical Switching Station Into Empowering Art Wall - Image 2 of 4Adjaye Associates Transform Electrical Switching Station Into Empowering Art Wall - Image 3 of 4Adjaye Associates Transform Electrical Switching Station Into Empowering Art Wall - Image 4 of 4Adjaye Associates Transform Electrical Switching Station Into Empowering Art Wall - More Images+ 1

Hairdressing Salon / OBJECTO

Hairdressing Salon / OBJECTO - Services Hairdressing Salon / OBJECTO - Services Hairdressing Salon / OBJECTO - Services Hairdressing Salon / OBJECTO - Services Hairdressing Salon / OBJECTO - More Images+ 21

  • Architects: OBJECTO
  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  300
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2017

World's Largest Single-Roof Performing Arts Center by Mecanoo Nears Completion in Taiwan

World's Largest Single-Roof Performing Arts Center by Mecanoo Nears Completion in Taiwan - Image 2 of 4
© Iwan Baan

Taiwan has announced the scheduled October 2018 opening of the Mecanoo-designed National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, also named “Weiwuying.” The Mecanoo scheme incorporates five state-of-the-art performance spaces under a single roof which, at 35 acres (141,000 square meters), stands as the world’s largest performing arts center under one roof.

Set across a 116-acre (470,000-square-meter) subtropical park in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung, the scheme will occupy a former military training base, symbolizing the city’s transition from a major international harbor into a rich, diverse, cultural hub, connecting local and international artistic talent.

Technical Center of Blagnac / NBJ architectes

Technical Center of Blagnac / NBJ architectes - Office Buildings, CityscapeTechnical Center of Blagnac / NBJ architectes - Office Buildings, FacadeTechnical Center of Blagnac / NBJ architectes - Office Buildings, Facade, Door, Table, ChairTechnical Center of Blagnac / NBJ architectes - Office Buildings, Beam, FacadeTechnical Center of Blagnac / NBJ architectes - More Images+ 15

  • Architects: NBJ architectes
  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  6000
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2017
  • Manufacturers Brands with products used in this architecture project
    Manufacturers:  EQUITONE, Technal, Knauf

Why Snøhetta's "A House to Die In" Is One of Norway's Most Controversial Construction Projects

This article was originally published by Metropolis Magazine as "Inside the Design of Norway’s Most Controversial Building."

The sun is setting fast over a half-frozen hill about five miles west of Oslo. Named Kikkut after a now-demolished villa, the site neighbors Ekely, the old estate of Edvard Munch (itself now half razed), and save for some graffiti-covered detritus and an early crop of spring wildflowers, its peak is totally barren. Squinting northward to Munch’s Winter Atelier some 500 feet in the distance, it’s hard to believe this is the proposed site for A House to Die In: one of the most controversial building proposals in recent Norwegian history.

The brainchild of Norway’s enfant terrible artist Bjarne Melgaard, the proposal for “A House to Die In” is a luminescent, UFO-like living sculpture that doubles as a studio and home for Melgaard and his parents. With financial backing from two of the most powerful property developers in the country, the Selvaags and Sealbay A/S—longterm friends of the artist who also supplied the plot of land on the outskirts of the city—the Oslo-based Melgaard approached local Norwegian firm Snøhetta in 2011 with his idea for a combined artwork, studio—and final resting place.

Villa G / GAAP studio associati

Villa G / GAAP studio associati - Houses, GardenVilla G / GAAP studio associati - Houses, Bedroom, Chair, Table, BedVilla G / GAAP studio associati - Houses, Courtyard, Facade, Door, ArchVilla G / GAAP studio associati - Houses, Garden, FacadeVilla G / GAAP studio associati - More Images+ 52

Porto Cervo, Italy

MX3D Completes Structural Span of World's First 3D Printed Metal Bridge

Late last year, we reported on the progress of world’s first 3D printed steel bridge designed by Netherlands-based MX3D. With the design now finalized, the start-up company has announced that the span of the bridge is now complete.

The final round of structural tests is expected to take place this summer, just three years after the project was first announced. After the structural integrity has been tested, the final design will be modified and the completion of the bridge will follow only a few months after. MX3D hopes to showcase the potential of their multi-axis 3D printer during the Dutch Design Week, and the first of its kind bridge is planned to be installed into its final location in a canal in Amsterdam sometime next year.

MX3D Completes Structural Span of World's First 3D Printed Metal Bridge - Image 1 of 4MX3D Completes Structural Span of World's First 3D Printed Metal Bridge - Image 2 of 4MX3D Completes Structural Span of World's First 3D Printed Metal Bridge - Image 3 of 4MX3D Completes Structural Span of World's First 3D Printed Metal Bridge - Image 4 of 4MX3D Completes Structural Span of World's First 3D Printed Metal Bridge - More Images+ 3

Gensler to Renovate Cleveland Cavalier's Quicken Loans Arena

The rust-belt city of Cleveland, Ohio is home to a number of famous architectural icons including Farshid Moussavi's Museum of Contemporary Art, Rafael Vinoly’s Cleveland Museum of Art, and Frank Gehry’s Peter B. Lewis Building at Case Western Reserve. Cleveland is also the site of the oldest publicly-owned NBA arena in the country that has yet to receive a major renovation. However, Quicken Loans Arena, home court to LeBron James and the Cavaliers, will be undergoing a large transformation to be spearheaded by Gensler.

This new design, which will greatly improve the visitor experience and serve as a catalyst of the growth in Cleveland, will have all Cavalier fans excited to “Defend The Land” once the renovations are complete in 2019.

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