Performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Mozart’s Don Giovanni shares the tale of a promiscuous nobleman and his eventual downfall to the throngs of Hell for his wrongdoings. Frank Gehry, who, in 2003, designed the Disney Concert Hall where Don Giovanni is being shown, was asked to construct the opera set which is paired with the costume design of sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte. In typical Gehry fashion, the set design includes an intensely layered backdrop of organically crumbled paper. The abstract sculptural forms – which can be interpreted as anything from icy waves to the bedsheets of his sexual conquests – create a neutral textured setting which make Rodarte’s colorfully detailed costumes pop.
The disappointment generated by the Shard’s opening laser light show is not so surprising for a project that has been grounded in controversy for over a decade. Since 2000, when Piano sketched his initial vision upon meeting developer Irvine Sellar, the project has consistently met obstacles such as English Heritage and the financial crash of 2007. But, the biggest opposition of the tower has been its height. English Heritage claimed that the tower, formerly known as London Bridge Tower, would “tear through historic London like a shard of glass” (ironically, coining the new name of the tower), and Piano counters that, “The best architecture takes time to be understood…I would prefer people to judge it not now. Judge it in 10 years’ time.”
Leading us to wonder…does the Shard simply need time to be fully appreciated?
MASS Design Group was announced as winner of the Zumtobel Group Award for their innovative and cost-efficient Butaro Hosptial in Rwanda. They triumphed over the 230 projects from 30 different countries that competed in the “Built Environment” award category. Additionally, Atelier d’architecture autogérée (France) was selected as winner of the “Research & Initiative” category for developing a strategy of urban resilience known as the R-URBAN project in Paris.
“Through their decision this year, the jury have underlined the fact that it takes a holistic approach to make truly sustainable improvements in the built environment,” said Zumtobel Group CEO Harald Sommerer, who was also a member of the 8-strong jury. “We are particularly pleased to see that, this year, young and dedicated architectural practices have won the award with approaches to resolving social and ecological issues, both in the industrialized world and in developing countries.”
The UK’s largest arts centre, occupying an 21-acre site that sits in the midst of London’s most vibrant cultural quarter on the South Bank of the Thames, has announced the shortlist of architects competing to head the refurbishment and renewal of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery complex. According to a statement released by the Southbank Centre, the project plans to bring the performance spaces and galleries in the complex up to the standard of the recently transformed Royal Festival Hall and will address current urgent problems including poor access to and the upgrading of the stages and galleries; sub-standard back stage areas; and worn out services.
No architectural gem is safe from Detroit’s foreclosure crisis – not even two of Mies Van der Rohe’s very own creations. The Lafayette Towers, two 22-story towers of 584 units, originally part of a major urban redevelopment project in the late 50s early 60s, are up for auction July 18th.
Tonight, Renzo Piano’s Shard will officially celebrate its opening complete with an amazing light show. A dozen lasers and thirty searchlights will beam streams of light across the city, creating a network between 15 other significant landmarks in London, such as the Gherkin, London Eye, Tate Modern, and Tower Bridge. (So, if you are in London, don’t miss the event at 10.15 this evening, and be sure to share some photos with us!)
Capping out at 310 meters, the Shard has become the tallest building in London, as well as the entire European Union. We have been following the history of Renzo Piano’s creation, and although laden with financial troubles, a change in developers, and criticism from Londoners, the project has finally reached completion.
More about the history of the tower after the break.
The City of Almere has revealed it’s MVRDV-designed proposal for the Floriade 2022 candidature! Almere is one of four Dutch cities competing to be the next location of the prestigious horticultural Expo, which takes place once every ten years in the Netherlands and is currently open in Venlo.
Rather than creating a temporary expo site, MVRDV has designed a lasting Cité Idéale, which would serve as a green extension to Almere’s city center. Drawing upon research from the radical DIY urbanism plan for Almere Oosterwold and the Almere 2030 master plan, MVRDV has designed an ambitious sustainable city that strives to be a 300% greener exhibition than the current standard.
Continue reading for more on this potential, exemplary green city!
Columbia University has been at the forefront of medical education for more than two centuries, as it was the first medical school in the United States to award the M.D. degree in 1770. Now, the Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) has announced plans for a new, state-of-the-art medical and graduate education building that reflects how they believe medicine is and should be taught, learned and practiced in the 21st century.
Located on the CUMC campus in the Washington Heights community of Northern Manhattan, the 14-story facility will aim to achieve LEED Gold certification and incorporate technologically advanced classrooms, collaboration spaces, and a modern simulation center. The design is led by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, in collaboration with Gensler as executive architect.
Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM) has started construction on their 1.4 million-square-foot master plan for The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. Demolition will commence on the existing parking garage at the south end of the hospital complex in order to clear the way for the new Orthopedic and Spine Center (OSC). The contemporary 332,000 square-foot building draws on the predominantly red brick character of the existing buildings and surrounding historic Mt. Auburn neighborhood, while providing a new public face on the south side of the hospital.
SOM strives to achieve LEED certification after completion in mid-2015. Continue after the break to learn more.
Wallpaper magazine recently announced their 2012 Architects Directory which features some of the world’s most intriguing young practices that have made their way into the spotlight. More images and a complete list of the architects who made director can be viewed after the break.
Dominique Perrault Architecture, the French practice recently awarded with the opportunity to build a tower called The Blade in Seoul as part of Daniel Libeskind’s master plan, has now been announced as winner of a concept/construction international competition for the Esplanade Tower in downtown Fribourg, Switzerland. The high rise is part of regeneration project of the Swiss Federal Railways at the site of the former Pilettes Station.
In a call for a Sustainable New York City, Mayor Bloomberg stated: “Given that buildings account for more than 80 percent of all municipal greenhouse gas emissions, constructing buildings with energy-efficient features is essential to reducing those emissions, and DDC plays a critically important role in that work.”
This is a great idea for new construction, but what about the existing, aging buildings? Most older buildings were built in a time when energy costs were low and the exterior walls were used less for energy performance and more for structural integrity. Knocking these buildings down to start over would cause a greater environmental impact due to the tons of waste material that would need to be discarded. So, what is the solution? REskin. DesignByMany‘s challenges you to cleverly reskin a decaying urban building on the corner of Broadway and Reade St in New York City. Submissions can range from a focused investigation to an entire reskinning of the building.
The REskin challenge is sponsored by Autodesk and media partners ArchDaily. Winners will receive a full license of Autodesk Revit Architecture 2013. Check out the building and learn more after the break!
The AIA’s Home Design Trends Survey for the first quarter of 2012 reports an optimistic outlook for residential architectural firms. Key aspects of the survey attempt to illustrate the trending situations compared with previous quarterly surveys. Perhaps the most enlightening aspect prevalent throughout the majority of the survey topics is that growth is beginning to shake off the declines of the housing downturn. More details after the break.
Starting today, one of Arizona’s most well-known architecture firms will no longer be will bruder+PARTNERS. After a successful 17-year history, the practice has branched into two independent firms with diverse architectural offerings due to a “natural evolution of individual and collective goals relating to firm size, design methodology and management.” Together, the internationally respected firm has created landmark buildings throughout the state, including projects such as the Burton Barr Library and the Agave Library. And now, each will go their separate ways as the firm has split into Will Bruder Architects and WORKSBUREAU.
Continue after the break to learn more about each firm.
TED Prize has big news! They have evolved so much since the prize launched in 2005 and now three key shifts have allowed them to turn the page to a whole new chapter. Historically, the TED Prize was awarded to individuals who then made a wish. Starting in 2013, it will be awarded to individuals with a big wish already in mind. Also, individuals may self-nominate or nominate someone else, as long as every nomination includes a world-changing, achievable wish. And now for the biggest change (drum roll, please…), the typical cash award of $100,000 has been raised to $1 million in order to provide powerful seed funding for the wish!
Yesterday afternoon, inside the playground of MoMA PS 1, we met Wendy - HWKN’s temporary summer installation for the 2012 Young Architects Program. As an experiment in pushing the boundaries of what architecture can do in an urban environment, Wendy certainly makes an impression. Her blue spiky arms shoot passed the confines of PS 1′s courtyard walls, immediately attracting the attention and piquing the curiosity of those meandering along Jackson Street. Conceptualized as a storm, Wendy intends to challenge the public’s notion of what architecture should be, as the structure’s ecological function will actually clean the air. ”Wendy does not play the typical architecture game of ecological apology – instead she is pro-active,” explained HWKN.
The international team, lead by well-known Russian urbanist Andrey Chernikhov, and including McAdam Architects, Tower 151, Georgi Stanishev and Ginsburg Architects placed first in round two of the Moscow City Agglomeration Development Concept competition. The winning consortium sparked debate by suggesting Moscow officials should consider redeveloping the abundant brown field sites and other available infill spaces within the existing city boundaries before proposing new development. They highlighted vast areas occupied by goods railways and disused industrial sites from Soviet times as prime areas for regeneration and expansion, as well as a re-thinking of transport networks to alleviate pressure on existing systems.
