Plans have been announced for a new hotel in Orlando’s planned Lake Nona community, which is to be designed by Arquitectonica in one of the fastest growing communities in the United States. The 16 storey Town Center Hotel will be situated at the heart of the community, featuring a motor court entrance, a lobby, a ballroom accommodating 200 guests, as well as a rooftop pool with a lounge and accommodation for private events. The tower will also be within close proximity to the airport, easily accessible by Orlando’s 68 million annual visitors and the “unique property will cater to airport travelers as well as those who intend to make Lake Nona their final destination.”

Construction has started on the redesign of an energy storage tower by LAVA (Laboratory for Visionary Architects) for Stadtwerke Heidelberg (SWH) in Heidelberg, Germany. The updated facade of the 56-meter cylindrical tower and design of an adjacent park are part of an initiative to create a sculptural landmark and symbol of sustainable energy for the city.

LAVA introduces a multi-layered facade that features 11,000 diamond shaped stainless-steel plates attached to a steel cable network that can rotate 45 degrees in the wind. According to the architects, a number of plates correlate to the number of households that will be beneficiaries of the energy. The geometries of the facade are inspired by forms found in nature.

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Orange Architects have been selected as winners of a competition to create a new mixed-use residential building situated at the port of IJburg in Amsterdam. The neighborhood of IJburg is comprised of a series of artificial islands developed to address the growing need for housing and lack of available land near Amsterdam's city center. Commissioned by Amvest, the 29,000 square meter development aims to provide a sustainable, inviting heart for the area.

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In this six-minute-long video, Vox makes the argument that the primary reason behind the recent resurgence of streetcar systems—or proposals for streetcars, at least—in the USA is not because of their contributions to urban mobility, but instead because of the fact that they drive and sustain economic development. As it uncovers the causes for the popular failure of the streetcar systems in cities such as Washington DC, Atlanta, and Salt Lake City (low speed and limited connectivity, mostly) it asks why an increasing number of American city governments are pushing for streetcars in spite of their dismal record at improving transit. Is it solely due to their positively modern aesthetic? Are streetcars destined to function as mere “attractions” in a city’s urban landscape? Or is the real objective something more complex?

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Collegiate institutions can start planning for the U.S. Department of Energy Race to Zero Student Design Competition (Race to Zero), which is at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado, April 21–22, 2018.
The Race to Zero is an annual competition, open to students and faculty from any interested collegiate institution. The competition challenges collegiate teams to design zero energy ready buildings that are so high performance and energy efficient that all or most annual energy consumption can be offset with renewable energy. Through this competition, future architects, engineers, construction managers, and entrepreneurs gain the skills and experience to start careers in clean energy and generate creative solutions to real-world problems.

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The Graham Foundation has announced the list of recipients of their annual Grants to Organizations program, established to “advance new scholarship, fuel creative experimentation and critical dialogue, and expand opportunities for public engagement with architecture and its role in contemporary society.”

For 2017, over $400,000 USD has been awarded to 41 projects from around the world within 5 categories: Exhibitions, Film/Video/New Media, Publications, Public Programs and Other Fellowships. In its 61 year history, the Graham Foundation has given more than 4,300 grants to individuals and institutions.

“This year marks an extraordinary group of projects from organizations around the world working to advance architectural thinking, push the boundaries of the field, and expand into previously underrepresented areas,” said Graham Foundation director Sarah Herda on the 2017 grantees.

Continue reading for the full list of recipients, with descriptions provided by the Graham Foundation.

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In this video, BBGK Architekci take you into their recently completed Katyn Museum in Warsaw, Poland, a space dedicated to the events of the Katyn Massacre during World War II. Selected as a finalist for the 2017 EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture—Mies van der Rohe Award, the project bridges the divide between an existing historic structure and a new intervention through the use of material and the sequencing of sacred, powerful spaces.

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