Sander Architects shared their Grace Restaurant design with us. Located in the rectory of the decommissioned St. Vibiana’s cathedral, the project includes an addition on a triangular piece of property adjoining the rectory. The addition includes a new kitchen on the first floor with additional cooking facilities and a private chef’s table on the upper floors. Putting a new spin on restaurant design, the building itself will provide great food. Working with the idea “the building you can eat”, the project becomes an edible form that is sheathed in a vertical garden, covered with tasty plants. Passers-by will be free to pick fruits, vegetable and herbs from the building as they walk along. An open street-side counter will also cater to walk-up orders. With this edible idea, the building become both environmentally and people friendly.
The Chinese Pavillion for the Shanghai World Expo 2010 is already in construction. Being the country that hosts the World Expo, the pavillion designed by Chinese architect He Jingtang stands in the central location of the Expo site at 63 meters tall, which triple the height of any other pavillion.
The main structure of the ChinaPavillion, “The Crown of the East,” has a distinctive roof, made of traditional dougong or brackets, which has a history dating back more than 2,000 years.
Below the main structure, there will be a 45,000-square-meter joint pavilion featuring the displays from local provinces, cities and regions. For more information, click here. More images after the break.
Although it seems that the economy has left behind it’s worst days, the fact is we are still going through an economic crisis. Many architecture offices and companies have had to let good people go. If you were one of them, you might be wondering how to advance your career in this challenging global job market.
Renzo Piano‘s latest project, the Shard, has recently moved to the construction phase. The 1,016 ft high skyscraper will be the tallest building in Western Europe and will provide amazing views of London. The mixed use tower, complete with offices, apartments, a hotel and spa, retail areas, restaurants and a 15-storey public viewing gallery, will sit adjacent to London Bridge station as part of a new development called London Bridge Quarter. Replacing the 1970′s Southwark Tower on Bridge Street, the Shard is a welcomed addition to the London skyline, and its central location near major transportation nodes will play a key role in allowing London to expand.
Our friends at Visiondivision passed along their Cover Up project which is part of a bigger commission to improve several power plants for an energy company. The firm created a storage facility for several heating containers that could be quickly outsourced and serve as back-up power should the city experienced a black-out. Working in an industrial area where the company was used to break ins and vandalism, the firm designed a “good looking, roofless, and flexible-as-an-anaconda building.” Good looking in the sense that this storage facility could better the rough surroundings; roofless due to the fact that the large containers needed to be transported with a special crane truck; and flexible since the need for additional containers in the future should also be considered.
The Frontier Project, located in Cucamonga, Southern California, is a 14,000 square foot demonstration building that will educate all in the community about the latest information, technologies and approaches regarding environmental friendliness. The project will make resident consumers, commercial builders, and sustainable advocates aware and informed of the alternative building methods to encourage sustainability. HMC Architects’ building will not just be something for visitors to look at and admire; rather, the building will become more of a learning experience as visitors are welcomed into its spaces and sustainable strategies are pointed out with their importance explained. “Everything from material and plant selection, the layout of space, and the maintenance regime will have a purpose, demonstrating the principle of green design for home owners, consumers, contractors, design professionals, sustainability advocates and the general public,” explained the Frontier Project founders.
More about the demonstration building, including a video and images, after the break.
When the Jurmala City Council asked Substance to build a sports venue for the popular Latvian sea resort, the firm designed a structure that could be open all year long in any weather. Inspired by the amber – crystallised resin of pine typically washed up on the Baltic coast, the venue’s form incorporates translucent polycarbonate cladding inside a structural framework to accentuate the building’s varying height.
Oxford University’s science center was way behind the times. Although the center was equipped with state of the art technology and some of the brightest minds, its fragmented and independent research areas made any attempt at interaction between scientists impossible. Working off academic J Rogers Hollingsworth’s theory that when scientists can frequently converse and exchange ideas, major breakthroughs are bound to happen, Hawkins Brown‘s new biochemistry building is a step in the right direction for Oxford.
More about the new Biochemistry facility after the break.
Erick van Egeraat‘s extension of InHolland University in Rotterdam adds more than 15,000 square feet to the growing education center. van Egeraat designed the original building in 2001 and now has added a volumetric addition which includes study areas, classrooms, offices and space for commercial functions.
Inhabitat and Dwell have just announced the winners of the Reburbia Design Competition. The competition, which has been running for the past 6 weeks, challenged architects, designers and concerned citizens to come up with solutions that would address the problems that plague present-day suburbia by envisioning different scenarios for the future.
Proposals tackled foreclosed McMansions, vacant big box stores, strip malls, parking lots and more with design fixes ranging from community agriculture and algae-based biofuels to zeppelin-based transit and pools transformed into water treatment plants. The competition drew over 400 entries from countries all over the world.
The design team of L. Tuleikis, R. Antinis, K. Vaikšnoras, K. Lanauskas, and P. Vaitiekūnas shared their competition entry for the renovation of Lukishkiu Square in Vilnius, Lithuania. The competition highlighted “freedom” as the square was established for a memorial space. The team’s proposal consists of a gently carved out central Freedom Field, surrounded by sculptural compositions and an external flame along the perimeter of the site.
The Waterpod ProjectTM has been floating around the New York area for the past few months gaining a lot of attention. Beginning in Newtown Creek, between Brooklyn and Queens, the Pod is moving down the East River and Hudson River. As reported by Melena Ryzik for The New York Times (view her articles here) this experimental project investigates the blend of community living and artistry. Showcasing artworks, performances and such, the WaterpodTM, is an eco-conscious environment that was designed “In preparation for our coming world with an increase in population, a decrease in usable land, and a greater flux in environmental conditions, people will need to rely closely on immediate communities and look for alternative living models; the Waterpod is about cooperation, collaboration, augmentation, and metamorphosis,” explained Mary Mattingly, a photographer who thought of the Waterpod idea.
DeStefano and Partnershave created a new commercial center for Ninbgo, China. Extending the existing canal system, the Yinzhou Fantasy Island master plan fuses the current wetlands and parks with the commercial aspects of the city as a way to balance the ecological with the cultural. The plan will not only include retail areas, but also entertainment, business, leisure and cultural facilities placed strategically along pedestrian boulevards in close proximity to mass transit systems.
Robert D.Henry Architects just finished the latest SHO Shaun Hergatt restaurant at 40 Broad Street in Manhattan, New York. The restaurant aims to “touch on all of the five senses” to create a full dining experience. “The more our senses are engaged synchronistically, the more powerful our experience; this viewpoint shapes everything we do now,” explained Henry.
The internationally acclaimed Herzog & De Meuron unveiled their re-conceptualized design for the Parrish Art Museum on the 14-acre Hampton site. The new design replaces the firm’s original idea which featured a villagelike cluster of pavilions scattered throughout the site. When the museum could not seem to raise the $80 million necessary to realize the project, they approached Herzog & de Mueron for a more modest proposal. The architects took the challenge and created a new building for less than a third of the original budget. The new museum’s long profile, which measures 94 feet wide and 634 feet long, houses galleries arranged in two long rows along a central corridor. The temporary walls allow the room sizes to be adjusted to account for the changing sizes of the temporary exhibits.
Kjellgren Kaminsky shared their proposal for a fish market and its surrounding square in Bergen, Norway. The five story building will house a market hall on the entrance and first floor and try to attract visitors and tourists who are passing by. “We believe that the traditional market would gain more visitors if it was combined with a modern marketplace fully equipped and under one roof,” explained the architects.
