Architecture News: The Latest Architecture and News

As the key words “Sustainability, Innovation and Communication” cornerstones, the Swedish Pavilion, designed by SWECO, showcases how the nation’s spirit of innovation solves problems, improves the urban environment and living standards, and demonstrates the importance of communication under the new technology situation.

The pavilion comprises four cube-like structures that are arranged to form a cross-like space between them — a shape much like Sweden’s flag when seen from above.The outside walls show a city-like grid; the inside walls are covered with images of nature. These cubes are connected by elevated walkways, and house the exhibition,VIP areas, a shop, a café, and a large covered courtyard — room enough for everyone.

More images and description after the break.

San Francisco’s newest transit hub will centralize all the transportation in the city by accomodating nine systems under one roof. Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects have designed a new terminal, a 1.3 mile extension of the Caltrain rail line, and the redevelopment of the surrounding area which will add 2,600 new homes, a 5.4 acre park roof and a retail street. And a loan of over $170 million given by the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act has given the project an extra push foward. Once completed in 2014, the terminal will include wind turbines, geothermal heating methods and a graywater recycling system. The hub will be a strong message that green technology can successfully be combined with modern transportation. “We are thrilled to be one of the first modern rail stations in the United States to achieve this historic milestone and look forward to continuing to make progress on the Transbay Project,” explained Maria Ayerdi-Kaplan, Executive Director of the Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA).

More images and a video of the project after the break.

Working with the idea of “creating a society that is based on quality not quantity, on cooperation and not competition,” CTRLZ architectures have rethought a new model for, not just a building, but rather for society. Due to the on-going “cultural revolution” we are experiencing, the way we approach solving the problems of the world have changed, and architecture along with it. Now, the architect must not merely respond to designing spaces, but to other factors, such as society, energy, the internet, and politics, as well. “We believe that architecture is not anymore about form and/or/…function, but that it is about relations. The development of network systems shows us that the power resides in links and connections.”

More about the model and more images after the break.

Samoo Architects and Engineers’ green roof design for Seoul covers a massive 131 acres. The project gives an “eco-upgrade” to the run-down Garak Wholesale Market by inserting an extensive public garden into the newly restored commercial center. The roof becomes a large public park that “mitigates rainwater runoff, insulates the interior spaces, and infuses Seoul’s city center with a breath of fresh air.” The design also includes three market pavilions which contain “eco-tubes”, channels that slice through the entire structure allowing daylight and ventilation to reach lower levels.

More images after the break.

This video clearly explains the concept for SO-IL‘s winning proposal for the P.S.1 summer installation we presented you yesterday. Now it is easier to understand the concept proposed by Pole Dance, encouraging people to move the structure to create a dynamic space.

Work AC, in collaboration with Edible Schoolyard NY and the Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse Foundation, is designing a new schoolyard for PS216 that will offer the young New Yorkers a different learning experience. The Edible Schoolyard is designed as a series of interlinked sustainable systems where the building will produce energy and heat, collect rainwater, process compost and sort waste with an off-grid infrastructure.

More images and more about the school after the break.

WORKac‘s design for a 1-kilometer section of Hua Qiang Bei Road in Shenzhen was awarded first prize. The design responds to the area’s growing commercial character which has unfortunately created traffic problems. For the proposal, the road becomes a series of “strategic interventions” where “five iconic lanterns”, (twisting bands of required program) create unique, visible destinations through a process of “urban acupuncture”.

More images and more about the design after the break.

Construction for Change, a non-profit in the United States, focuses on building the necessary infrastructure to sustain impoverished communities’ needs. Kit and Samantha Kollmeyer were asked by the CFC to design housing for the One Acre Fund in Bungoma, Kenya to provide a new facility for the growing organization. The One Acre Fund hopes to expand the number of families they provide aid to, from 12,000 families to 33,000 families in the next two years, so this husband and wife team was brought in to design a new headquarters consisting of office and classroom space, and two-bedroom housing units for in-country volunteers.

More about the Kollmeyer’s project after the break.

SAMOO Architecture, the New York studio of SAMOO Architects and Engineers based in Seoul, Korea, was awarded first prize in an international competition for the design of The New York Korea Center. Set to begin construction at the end of this year, the 8 story, 33,000 square foot facility will provide space for exhibitions, performances, lectures, and administration. The design is said to “embody the modern Korean sensibility of innovation in harmony with tradition.”

More images and more about the design after the break.

It has been reported that 3 million people (about a third of Haiti’s population) have been affected by the recent earthquake. With that number expected to climb as the days progress, the number of casualties will be somewhere nearing 50,000. Many countries are supplying immediate help as millions of dollars, and tons of food, water and medical supplies are rapidly being delivered to the small country.

Visiondivision‘s latest project, a residential extension for two children in Stockholm, utilizes a landscape surface that is enhanced by elements around and inside the house. The young children will be spending most of their day enjoying the outdoors, so Visiondivision “wanted to give the two new citizens a safe base where they can explore their new surroundings and be able to appreciate it to the fullest.” By deliberately choosing inexpensive building components, such as windows and façade materials, the architects saved a bigger part of the budget to create as many playful elements as they could.

More about the Hill House after the break.

Martin Angelov shared his funky concept for a new urban way of transportation dubbed “Kolelinia” with us . Kolelinia proposes that we ride our bicycles on a steel wire as a new type of bicycle lane. The idea was awarded first for the international “Line of Site” competition.

More about Kolelinia after the break.

Beijing Sunlay Design Office designed a Protestant Church in Inner Mongolia that takes its inspiration from the land’s topography. Set on top of a hill of Ordos, the scheme, entitled “Dove of Peace” gives its metaphor and poetry to the church by re-interpreting a contemporary and abstract silhouette of the bird carrying an olive branch. Made of concrete and with the facades finished in white crepi, the church’s form follows the adjacent curved road that crosses the site. “The dialogue between the outside and the inside space is emphasized by the play of shadows and light that creates complexity and depth in the reading of the space.” Delicate streams of light reflect harmony and tranquility, providing the perfect atmosphere for prayer and contemplation.

More images after the break.

With its final height kept as a secret until the last minute, we witnessed the incredible opening of the tallest building in the world.

Oncuoglu Architecture designed the B199, a 74.500 m² mix-use development for Istanbul, Turkey. Inspired by the urban landscape of Istanbul, the project occupies the intersection of the Gultepe and Buyukdere, two districts with different urban patterns. The project is designed to act as a “bridge integrating the spatial discontinuity between two sides of the site.”

More about the B199 after the break.

The theme of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo is “Better City, Better Life”, and the special theme for the Hong Kong Pavilion is “Hong Kong – a city with unlimited potential“. A concept design competition was held in 2008 and received some 80+ submissions. Ida & Billy’s submission was awarded the Frist Prize, and formed the basis for the final design and execution by the government and another architectural firm.

Their design is driven by the functional needs of the pavilion, that is how to provide the required exhbition space and other facilities within a limited space and with a height limit; and to make the Hong Kong Pavilion, which is much smaller in size than the other pavilions, to still have its own attraction and uniqness.

More images and full architect’s description after the break.

When asked to design a luxury hotel and spa at Hersham Golf Club in Surrey (which is within London’s Green Belt) ReardonSmith Architects responded with plans for a subterranean building. Matthew Guy, ReardonSmith’s project designer, explained “Our concept integrates hotel, spa, and golf facilities into a single architecturally exciting and organic composition below and above ground. The design fulfills the requirements of the brief for a bespoke five star hotel while returning hard standing to the Green Belt and improving the physical layout and visual attraction of the entire site. It represents a commercially viable solution to developing in the Green Belt and is, we believe, a world-first.”

More about the hotel after the break.

Perkins+Will’s master plan for SANY Beijing was awarded first prize in the “Conceptual Design” category at the 8th International Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism due to the project’s strength in the categories of spatiality, connectivity, originality and sustainability. SANY is the largest heavy equipment manufacturer in China and one of the top 10 heavy equipment manufacturers in the world. The company wanted to achieve a higher degree of efficiency in their manufacturing process and create a memorable visitor experience.

More about the SANY project after the break.