In the summer, we introduced the proposals for The City + The Arch + The River competition that challenged designers to revive the urban fabric surrounding St. Louis’ iconic arch. The proposals offered differing views on ways to activate a park system and attract the public. We’re excited to share the news that the proposal by landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh and his multidisciplinary team has been selected to move forward!
Check out a cool video of MVVA’s proposal and more about the project after the break.
C. F. Møller Architects placed first in a competition to design eighteen sustainable town houses for Norra Djurgaardsstaden, Stockholm. The town houses are part of a larger effort to convert the area of Norra Djurgaardsstaden into a completely high-profile environmental area. The architectural expression of the residences finds inspiration in the neighboring cultural center and Husarviken, which flows into the archipelago, and the Stockholm National City Park. According to C.F. Møller, “The project makes it possible to live a modern life based on sustainable solutions.”
Today we got the news that OMA has won the competition for a new regional library (Bibliothèque Multimédia à Vocation Régionale) in Caen, France. The 12,000m2 project will be OMA’s first cultural building in France, and was led by associate-in-charge Clément Blanchet.
The jury for the Museum of the Second World War Competition in Poland have recently announced the winner. Studio Architektoniczne Kwadrat received 1st Prize and will design the new museum in Gdańsk, the city where the war broke out. 2nd Prize was awarded to Polish architects Piotr Płaskowicki & partnerzy Architekci and 3rd Prize to Greece-based BETAPLAN S.A.
See more images and justification of the jury for the winner after the break.
Great projects often come from competitions. You don’t believe me? Check our fourth part of our previously featured awarded competition projects after the break.
3LHD to design private medical center in Croatia Close surrounding and historical site of Firule area are one of the most enjoyable Split’s living, working and recreation environments. Extraordinary location for the polyclinic is one of its greatest advantages. Placed near existing hospital complex on Firule, close to the sea and fresh air gives it even more importance and value (read more…)
An exciting exhibit opening today in St. Louis, Missouri will display the five finalist teams of The City+The Arch+The River 2015 International Design Competition (check out some previous information about the competition on AD). The competition asked participants to better “frame” the iconic Arch and weave the national park back into the fabric of the city and the region, by rejuvenating connections and re-energizing the area. The construction finish line is set for October 28, 2015 which marks the 50th anniversary of the completion of the Arch.
Check out a brief overview of each project after the break.
The new library, placed centrally at the Dalarna university campus, is organized as a ”spiral of knowledge” (see diagram below). The sloping terrain continues in a ramp through the building. Wrapping itself the ramp creates a spiral-shaped space – the heart of the building for information seeking and easy orientation. This organization of program creates a various learning environment where students can take part in the vibrant life of the library as well as retreat into various study niches. The different sound levels and activities create a diverse and eventful library.
The Boston Society of Architects shared the four winning projects for the 2010 Unbuilt Awards with us. Each year, the BSA sponsors this award program to honor and promote excellent design. Any project typology can be submitted for review, as long as the project is either purely theoretical or an unbuilt client sponsored project. The four winners show the diversity of the award as the projects vary in program, materiality and, of course, their design strategy. The winning projects and teams include: Land of Giants by Choi & Shine Architects, Playcloud by Nameless Architecture, Retreat House by Hutker Architects and Putting the Farm Back in Farmington by University of Arkansas Community Design Center.
Plasma Studio’snewest project in China, a bold angular set of towers, speaks to the firm’s geometric obsession. The project was recently awarded first prize in an invited competition in Datong, Shanxi province. The mix-use complex, measuring of 70,000 m2, will include a hotel in one tower and offices in the other. Running along a highly trafficked street, the towers create a strong presence along the streetscape and are pulled away just enough from the site’s edge to provide places for pedestrians and greenery.
Recently awarded first prize,Woods Bagot’s vision for the Shijiazhuang International Exhibition and Convention Center will be manifested in a sleek faceted glass tower that rises from smaller geometric exhibition halls. The master plan is designed to uplift the city’s coastal area, which is currently underdeveloped, by attracting tourists and locals to the entire complex for different programmatic activities.
More images and more about the master plan after the break.
For the Young Architects Forum Atlanta’s 10UP! National Architectue Competition, participants were challenged to create a temporary installation for Atlanta. The winning 45 ft tower, Periscope, designed by Brandon Clifford and Wes Mcgee of Matter Design Studio, is an “inhabitable installation with iconic implications to advocate bold architecture for the Atlanta community and young designers across the globe.” The designers felt the tower would create a strong marker for the city, “Through vertical expansion via the omission of a vertical restriction, this tower will engage a broader audience, inviting them to the event similar to search lights in the night sky.”
More about the tower, including lots of images and a video, after the break.
A few days ago, we shared C. F. Møller Architects‘ winning entry for the Kristiansund Opera and Culture Center entitled Kulturkvartalet. This project shares its joint first place prize with Oslo based architecture and design office Space Group + London based Brisac Gonzalez. The team of Space Group and Brisac Gonzales have designed a 15, 000 m2 opera and cultural house with a 600-seat auditorium, library, cultural facilities, restaurants and a youth center. ”Our strategy is threefold: a full refurbishment of the building skin, an upgrading of the structure, and an extension of the top floor with roof terrace. The ground floor is conceived as a living room, with spaces for music, newspapers, studying, playing. The café opens graciously to Kongensplass – an urban garden,” explained the team.
More images and more about the winning proposal after the break.
Serero Architects’winning design for a library and auditorium for the University of Amiens incorporates a wooden “smart skin” that controls the internal space ambiance and frames views. Resting in the middle of the campus, the new building will “constitute a central place for exchanges and meeting around technologies as well as the catalyst of an intense campus social life” explained the architect.
Not onlydid Laura Alvarez Architectureplace in Europe’s top 40 architects under 40, but the young firm also just received a unanimous first prize standing from the jury of the Customize Me! competition sponsored by the Heijmans Vastgoed & Woningbouw. Asked to provide a new vision for contemporary housing, Laura Alvarez responded with a housing model that can be aadjusted for different kinds of families and if a person suddenly changes his way of living. Entitled 4D LIFE | Space and Time – four dimensions of living, space and time are linked entities so that how the space is used directly correlates to time. ”We want to offer a house that fits all moments of life and to all kinds of standards of living. We want to offer space for personal input, for all kinds of people, independently from their origin, social status or age.” explained the architect.
C.F. Møller Architects just won a shared first prize in the competition for the new Opera and Culture Center in Norway, entitled Kulturkvartalet. This new Opera Center will house the country’s oldest opera in Kristiansund, the capital of the region of Nordmøre. The site proposes an interesting challenge as the new design must integrate two existing buildings with the proposed new urban center, and the most critical component becomes the shared urban space between the old and the new which will ultimately connect the Opera and Culture Center with pedestrian streets and a nearby park.
