The global reference for architecture

The shortlist for a new landmark project in Melbourne has been announced, comprising award-winning global architects such as Bjarke Ingels Group, MVRDV, and OMA. For the “Southbank by Beulah” mixed-use development, the shortlisted architects will engage in a design competition working in collaboration with local Australian firms, each producing a design proposal for Melbourne’s BMW Southbank site.

With an end value in excess of $2 billion, Southbank by Beulah will be the first large-scale private project adhering to the Australian Institute of Architecture guidelines, while the design competition will be chaired by a jury of seven regarded individuals from academic, architectural, property and government sectors.

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In partnership with a 3D laser-scanning nonprofit called CyArk, Google Arts & Culture began the Open Heritage Project, a new chapter for historic preservation in the form of virtual reality. By using advanced 3D laser scanning technology, high-res drone photography, and DSLR cameras, CyArk can virtually recreate historic architecture to be more easily explored and restored.

Nearly a year after opening its "Xiamen Bicycle Skyway," DISSING+WEITLING Architecture has won another major infrastructure project in the Chinese city. The winning design, "Xiamen Footpaths," is set to be a 21-kilometer network of paths and bridges creating a large-scale network connecting the surrounding nature and the budding metropolis of Xiamen.

Much like DISSING+WEITLING's "Bicycle Snake" did for bicycles in Copenhagen, the "Xiamen Footpaths" will improve the traveling conditions and city experience for pedestrians in the bustling city of Xiamen.

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Videos

The spatial investigation group Forensic Architecture has been nominated for the 2018 Turner Prize. Based at Goldsmiths University in London, the interdisciplinary group of architects, filmmakers, journalists, lawyers, and scientists have devoted their energy to investigating state and corporate violations worldwide.

The nomination represents the second time a team of spatial designers has been recognized by the prize in its three-decade history, following on from 2015 winners Assemble.

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It was an early morning in Chelsea, and men in suits were standing around the street, ushering in guests into a dark, 12,000 square-foot exhibition space at the XI gallery. Inside, the room was lit by a centerpiece installation of the New York City skyline, sprawling upwards towards the ceiling with its reflection. Bjarke Ingels was going to unveil new plans for The XI (‘The Eleventh’), a pair of twisting towers set between 17th and 18th Streets and 10th and 11th Avenue. Es Devlin, a British artist who has stage-designed for Beyoncé and Katy Perry, was tapped by HFZ Capital Group to create three installations to present the project.

In the gallery, Bjarke Ingels's work is seen through a sculptural map of Manhattan constructed within a 30-foot wide concave hemisphere (Egg); a pair of illuminated towers gently rotating upon shimmering water (Dance); and a 360-degree film strip of Ingels and his sketches scrolling across a horseshoe-shaped room (Paper, Stone, Glass, Water).

“Evolution in constant motion,” Es Devlin told reporters as she gestured towards the curves of the dancing towers.

Bjarke laughed. “I’ll bring it down to pragmatism.”