The international competition for a new service building in Taiwan’s major port city Keelung called for the design of a modern passenger and cargo terminal transfer station and maritime gateway art plaza. The objective is to improve the quality of the services for passengers and cargo, accelerate the development of surrounding areas, and ultimately promote local prosperity of the region. The new service building design is to be a new “Gateway to the Nation” – one that could become a form of Landmark Architecture of Keelung. The site of the new building should be integrated with the other commercial buildings in an effort to develop the entire area. The diverse programs cover an area of 82,615 m2 and include car and coach parking.
The two-stage competition was announced in early May 2012 and recieved thirty one submissions from twelve countries in the first stage. On July 19th the jury unveiled five nominated groups to continue to the second stage whose deadline is in September.
Follow us after the break for details on the five shortlisted firms.
The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) has announced five design teams invited to submit proposals for the Xiqu Center, which will be the first landmark building within Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District. Serving as the main theatre and Team House, the Xiqu Center will form the gateway into the £1.7bn, Foster-designed masterplan once it is complete towards the end of 2015.
Mr. Louis Yu, Executive Director, Performing Arts stated, “There has been a fantastic response to our plans for the Xiqu Centre from design teams from across the world. We are working hard to find the right team to work with to fulfill our ambitions. The shortlisted teams will meet with representatives of the Chinese opera artform, engaging with stakeholders so we can conceive together a world-class building for Hong Kong and for the development and promotion of this important form of Chinese cultural heritage.”
This year the Cleveland Design Competition is calling for a re-imagining of the Detroit Superior Bridge – a 19th century bridge rich with history and value to Cleveland’s downtown area and industrial zones. Professional, students, firms and designers are all invited to propose a dynamic public space, performance venue and pedestrian experience along the abandoned lower streetcar level of the bridge. Registration for this competition closes on September 24th. The competition deadline is October 5th. This is an awarded competition for first, second and third prize winners. A free public reception and exhibition will takes place on October 26th to announce the winners. To register, visit the official competition website.
For a brief on the competition, join us after the break.
The Indigo Consortium—comprising schmidt hammer lassen architects, aarhus arkitekterne, Creo Arkitekter and engineering consultants NNE Pharmaplan, Brix & Kamp Rådgivende Ingeniører, Oluf Jørgensen Rådgivende Ingeniører and Royal Haskoning—has won the competition to design the New Aalborg University Hospital in Northern Jutland, Denmark – a project of € 551.5 million. The winning design merges the new hospital complex with the sloping landscape in a smooth transition from the existing Aalborg University. The concept of the new masterplan is to create an urban structure where streets, paths and courtyards form greatly diverse spaces, while referring to the human scale in both the buildings and the spaces in between. More images and a description from schmidt hammer lassen architects after the break.
Matthias Kisch from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and Amy Linford from Newcastle University have won first and special awards respectively in this year’s Troldtekt Award just announced. Architectural and design students from 23 countries entered the concept competition, submitting an extensive array of creative and original ideas about how Troldtekt’s traditional acoustic panels can be used. More information on the winners, images and videos after the break.
WILCOTER Architects shared with us their first prize winning proposal in the international competition to design a group of buildings as the headquarter of China Life Insurance (Group) Company in the Qianjiang New City of Hangzhou. The concept is to create a ‘Tree of Life’, which means supplying a cover or shelter for the life, which is strong and safe to rely on. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Participants in the Skanska Bridging Prague competition were asked to develop a new Vision Plan for the section of the riverfront from Libeňsk (Bridge) to the north to Železniční (Railway Bridge) in Smíchov to the south. The goal was to create a unified experience, linking cultural, recreational, ecological, historical and economic opportunities. They were also asked to design an intervention that will become a premiere destination along the river Vltava. The first prize winning proposal by Pete North focuses on strengthening the natural characteristics of places at the riverside, where it is consistent and feasible. It aims to create a synergy between park localities and the river, connected into a consequent chain of continuous spaces. More images and winning proposals after the break.
Facing the roman Arenas and amphitheater of Nîmes, crossed by the ruins and the archeological remains of the ancient roman fortifications, the main challenge for the design of the Musée de la Romanité was to design a museum that would become a reference on an international scale. This winning proposal by Elizabeth de Portzamparc creates a strong architectural dialogue between two architectures separated by over two thousand years of history and facing each other. The project is located on the backbone of the site, on the old limit that used to separate the medieval town from the modern city. More images and architect’s description after the break.
Archpolis, a non-profit organization for architects, designers, artists and the performing arts, has invited architects and planners to submit their qualifications for the first stage of a design competition in Nikola-Lenivets Park in the Kaluga Region of Russia. Fifteen finalists will be chosen for the second stage of the competition with the objective to provide a conceptual design of a residential complex for artist in residence, along with a master plan and zoning details for the surrounding area.
LAVA, the Laboratory for Visionary Architecture, and Designsport collaborated with local Ethiopian firm JDAW to win the international architecture competition for a national stadium and sports village, held by the Federal Sport Commission, Ethiopia. Now, football and athletics-loving Ethiopians will have a new FIFA and Olympic-standard 60,000 seat stadium in Addis Ababa thanks to a design that combines local identity with new technology. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Architect: CEBRA Location: Tuborg Havnevej 7, Hellerup, DK Client: Experimentarium Area: Approximately 30.000 m2 modernization and extension Program: Center for Natural Science and Technology Competition Year: 2011 Completion Year: 2015
After placing first in the design competition to transform an old mineral water bottling plant into a Science Center, CEBRA will move forward with the adapted proposal upon receipt of a substantial donation from the The A.P. Møller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller Foundation. The original building will be restored to serve as an interactive national center for science, technology and culture and house the Experimentarium’s diverse exhibition and education activities for the neighboring communities. CEBRA’s solution of layering a new expression on the historic entity brings science to the forefront while acknowledging contextual cues that create links back to its surroundings.
Based on natural light, open spaces and greenery such as peat, grass and flowers, the proposal by OOIIO Architecture for the Female Prison in Iceland dismisses the dark spaces, small cells and grey concrete walls typical of a traditional prison. The construction will be economical and efficient while not giving off the appearance of a typical penitentiary and increasing a sense of freedom. More images and architects’ description after the break.
In response to Tennessee being currently ranked as the fourth most obese state in the U.S., the Nashville Civic Design Center has launched Designing Action in an attempt to pursue alternative ideas that will promote active lifestyles and help transform Nashville into a healthier city. Designing Action seeks to re-imagine a 75 acre industrial site along Downtown Nashville’s Cumberland River and envision ways in which infrastructure can promote active lifestyles and increase quality of life for all of Nashville’s citizens.
The registration deadline is set for July 27th, 2012. Continue reading for more information.
Our friends from CEBRA will team with Tækker and Grassat to design the Prinsesse Charlottes Gade 42 day care and after-school center in Copenhagen. The project will convert two existing preservation-worthy buildings from 1875 into a day care center complete with outdoor areas for approximately 225 children. CEBRA has a strong portfolio of educational design - some of our favorites include the Youth Recreation & Culture Center designed with Dorte Mandrup; Design Kindergarten; Egmont High School and the Kristiansand Cathedral School Gimle - so we are looking forward to what this design process will bring about. As the project unfolds, we will keep you informed with the latest.
The winning proposal by C. F. Møller Architects for a new 10,000 m2 ward building for Haraldsplass Hospital in Bergen, Norway has been described by the jury as, “a whole new kind of hospital”. Gone are the traditional hospital corridors, to be replaced by open common areas and efficient logistics. The new building will lie at the foot of the Ulriken mountain, with the river Møllendalselven in front. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Chartier Dalix Architectes recently won a competition for a primary school and student residence located in Ivry, Framce, just outside of Paris. The school is organized in the form of a terraced landscape welcoming successive vegetation and its general implantation, facing south, offers maximum sunlight to the playgrounds, corridors, and classrooms that take full advantage of this landscape in height. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Henning Larsen Architects has won the competition for developing a 150,000 sqm area in the second-largest city in the Faroe Islands, Klaksvík. The area will comprise a cultural house, a museum, residences, offices and shops. 154 competition proposals were submitted in the open, international competition. More images and architect’s description after the break.
2DEFINE Architecture, with local partner Dalian Urban Planning & Design Institute, recently won an assignment to lead the design of an extraordinary new convention center in Yingkou, China. The project consists of a four-story, 70,000-square-meter (750,000-square-foot) facility in a city of 2.2 million people located in the northwest province of Liaoning on the Bohai Sea. A unique, sea urchin-shaped building created to reflect its natural environment, the facility will be the centerpiece of a new harbor created off of a satellite central business district in the port city. More images and architects’ description after the break.
