Amsterdam is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Its origins lie in the 12th century when fishermen living along the banks of the River Amstel built a bridge across the waterway near the IJ, then a large saltwater inlet. Most of the city’s territory is below sea level and therefore it lies on land that has been reclaimed from the water.
Amsterdam is all about practical urban planning, amazing cycling infrastructure, tulip-lined canal bridges, and old merchant houses that tilt at impossible angles. I visited Amsterdam again last year and discovered some new places.
Tsz Yan Ng is a Michigan-based firm principal, professor, researcher, and artist whose interdisciplinary and collaborative work seeks to challenge and improve upon modern fabrication and manufacturing practices. “We haven’t changed the way we build in so long,” Ng said. “We need to think of it more productively—not just economically—but as a collection of different voices. Architecture is a global ecosystem of people, where the sum is greater than the parts.”
In this powerful new visual from Spirit of Space, we are introduced to Ricardo Bofill’s headquarters ‘The Factory’ or La Fábrica, Taller de Arquitectura. Once a disused and decaying cement factory from the turn of the century, with 30 silos, machine room, and galleries, it is now a significant transformative project, satisfying the Architect's longing for space via adaptive reuse.
A haven in the urban sprawl, engulfed by a floury of palm, olive, and eucalyptus trees. Spirit of Space visits the former hive of activity, now a tranquil mid-city refuge, an immense contrast to the industrial grime that used to reside here. Through moving pictures and multi-sensory experiences it explores the Brutalist form; a concrete shell… a skeleton intertwined with nature itself.
This week’s curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture highlights competition-winning projects submitted by the ArchDaily Community. From large scale urban developments to interventions in the landscape, from housing projects to educational spaces and commercial buildings, this article showcases a variety of design approaches, programs and scales. The proposals featured are the results of local and international competitions, either creative concepts or projects currently in progress.
The competition-winning entries include a range of different projects, designed by both new practices and established firms. are a few of this week's highlights. A "city within a city" urban development in Ukraine, an EV station design in Canada that reinterprets the traditional typology of highway rest areas, a sustainable housing block in Finland and a clubhouse in the landscape of New Zealand are some of this week's highlights.
Indiana University inaugurated a new shared facility for the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design, which materializes a recently rediscovered design by Mies van der Rohe. The 1952 project intended for a fraternity house on the same IU Bloomington campus was entrusted to New York-based firm Thomas Phifer and Partners to be adapted to contemporary building codes and its current academic function while preserving the intended architectural aesthetic. The two-storey, 930 square meter building has officially opened to students and faculty.
Capturing an image has become spontaneous and immediate. While mobile photography maintains quality, it loses the ritual of taking a picture, i.e. thinking about an image while walking through a new city or the framing possibilities for a building from your point of view. In short, each image is the result of focus, aperture, exposure and the characteristics of the space. Travelling with a 35mm camera sets your limits, some say it is the closest lens to the human eye, others say it is too narrow to capture a building from the outside, but no doubt it all depends on your judgement and the capabilities of the equipment at your disposal.
Marta Minujín, Parthenon of Books, Dokumenta 14, Kassel, Germany, 2017. Image by Anne-Catrin Schultz.. Image Courtesy of Real and Fake in Architecture–Close to the Original, Far from Authenticity?
The term “fake” has been in the media frequently in the early 21st century, referring to headlines and fictional statements that are perceived as real and are influencing public opinion and action. Replacing the historically more common term “propaganda,” fake news aims at misinformation and strives to “damage an agency, entity, or person, and/or gain financially or politically, often using sensationalist, dishonest, or outright fabricated headlines.” Tracing fake news and differentiating “real” information from personal opinions and identifying intentional (or unintentional) deceit can be complicated. It is similarly complex to trace the duality of fake and real in the built world. To explore the larger context of fake statements in architecture and environmental design, a look at the definition of fake and related terms might be necessary.
Recently, the Nobel laureate economist Paul Krugman wrote in the New York Times about the causes of unaffordable housing in New York City. He blamed the crisis on a few things, including a powerful financial “monoculture” in the city, NIMBYs, and the city itself blocking new construction. That last element, however—that the city blocks new construction—is an increasingly popular myth that needs examination.
Skating and ice rinks combine temperature, atmosphere and structure together. Between sports and leisure, these spaces are designed around experience and time as some of the most interactive public spaces. As an architecture of recreation and play, skating centers also host a variety of sports. Today, the architecture of skating encompasses a range of programs and formal approaches that define some of the most iconic and social activities.
Seven decades after designing Lever House, SOM returns to the iconic modernist building to resume its restoration, continuing its long-lasting stewardship of the project. SOM previously revisited the building in 2001, restoring its façade using high-performance materials while preserving the original architectural image. This time, the intervention concerns the ground floor and the third level terrace, as well as the mechanical systems, to significantly improve the building’s energy performance. When complete in 2023, the renovation will become an important example of extending the life of the midcentury built environment.
Big cities and the troubled routine of urban life increasingly reveal the need for moments of relaxation aimed at physical and mental health. This concern has become more evident after the long quarantine periods of the Covid-19 pandemic, when disconnecting from routine became even more difficult. Thus, in recent years, more and more people have been looking for activities and places that provide this rest.
For more than a century, a street market known as ‘The Blue’ was the beating heart of Bermondsey in Southeast London. On Saturdays gone by, hundreds flocked to the historic neighborhood, a site with roots reaching back to the 11th century when it was once a pilgrimage route to Bermondsey Abbey. Market punters used to sample goods from more than 200 stalls that famously sold everything under the sun. “You can buy anything down The Blue” was the phrase everyone went by.
First Place. Image Courtesy of Galiasgar Kamal Tatarian State Academic Theatre
The Open International Competition for the Development of an Architectural Concept for the Galiasgar Kamal Tatarian State Academic Theatre has announced its results. The consortium including Kengo Kuma & Associates was granted the first place, while the second place went to a proposal led by Asif Kahn Studio and the third place to Coop Himmelb(l)au and his team.
Graduating with an architecture degree is often met with the expectations of working a 9-5 job at an office. However, the reality is that many fresh graduates are venturing into diversified careers and exploring fields such as architectural photography, writing, rendering, set design, and project management. In this Editor's Talk, ArchDaily's Founder and Editor in Chief, Director of Software Product Development, Managing Editors, and Social Media Editor share their experiences of graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in Architecture then finding themselves exploring different, yet very complimentary career paths post graduation, proving that there is a lot more to the architecture practice beyond designing built spaces.
As part of the Desert X international contemporary art exhibition, the second edition of the Desert X AlUla features 15 contextual installations across the Saudi Arabian desert that explore "ideas of mirage and oasis". This year's exhibition is curated by Reem Fadda, Raneem Farsi, and Neville Wakefield, under the theme of Sarab (arabic for 'Mirage'), and invites artists to address the history and culture of the desert, its contemporary significance, and the dichotomy between the natural and man-made world.
Construction began at the Goethe Institute in Dakar, designed by Kéré Architecture. The project is the first purpose-built space for the German cultural association and exchange centre in its over 60 years of global activity. Located within a residential area and a lush garden, the two-storey structure is shaped by the canopy of trees on-site and is being built using bricks made of laterite, a residual local rock with insulating qualities that help to passively regulate the indoor climate. The project will provide spaces for a wide array of activities, ranging from exhibitions and language courses to concerts and gatherings, all while building on the cultural landscape of Senegal.
.jpg?1646040749 "SOM Explores Future Timber Construction Methods at the 2021 Chicago Biennial. Image © Kendall McCaugherty © Hall+Merrick Photographers")
.jpg?1646040755 "SOM Explores Future Timber Construction Methods at the 2021 Chicago Biennial. Image © Kendall McCaugherty © Hall+Merrick Photographers")
.jpg?1645540015 "La Fábrica, Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura. Image Courtesy of Ricardo Bofill")
.jpg?1645655249 "Courtesy of Ricardo Bofill")
_%C2%A9_Richard_Powers.jpg?1645655222 "La Fábrica, Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura. Image © Richard Powers")
.jpg?1645655255 "Courtesy of Ricardo Bofill")
.jpg?1645781972 "Green field Factory of Karupannya Rangpur Ltd., by Nakshabid Architects. Image © Junaid Hasan Pranto")
.jpg?1645781751 "Red Deer College Polytechnic Student Residence, by Reimagine Architects Ltd. . Image © Cooper & O'Hara")
.jpg?1645782629 "Huaira, by Diana Salvador - Javier Mera. Image © jagstudio")
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.jpg?1645602665 "ArchDaily Product Development Team. Image Courtesy of Soledad Sambiasi")
