Aedas recently unveiled their master plan proposal for the CTS Temple of Heaven Performance Zone. Located in Beijing, their concept consists of a trio of urban, garden and lake environments while aiming to become the capital’s core cultural and commercial district and establish an international modern city life standard. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Beijing: The Latest Architecture and News
CTS Temple of Heaven Performance Zone Winning Proposal / Aedas
National Art Museum of China Entry / Gehry Partners
Gehry Partners have just released their highly anticipated proposal for the National Art Museum of China (NAMOC) in Beijing. Though rumors from last year reported Frank Gehry and Jean Nouvel as the competition’s top contenders, with Nouvel taking the lead, a winner has yet to be confirmed.
Gehry’s design, which is intended to promote cross cultural understanding and appreciation for Chinese contemporary art, aims at setting a new standard for 21st century Chinese architecture. Perhaps the most defining element of the design is the “translucent stone” facade, a new type of glass developed by Gehry Partners that is said to have the qualities of jade.
More images and the architect’s description after the break...
'The Cola-Bow' Installation / penda
Designed by penda, the cola-bow installation is a public art installation made out of more than 17,000 recycled plastic bottles, which were braided to create a shape inspired by the swings of the Coca-Cola logo. Designed for the 2nd Beijing University Creation Expo, which turns into the Beijing Design Week, the installation aims to also serve as a statement against plastic pollution by taking trash and turning it into a shelter. More images and architects' description after the break.
'Shanshui City' Book Launch and Exhibition / Ma Yansong of MAD Architects
Displayed earlier this month in a Qing Dynasty courtyard garden at Wu Hao in Beijing, Ma Yansong's 'Shanshui City exhibition featured more than twenty architectural models and works of art that are scattered around the ancient courtyard. Among rocks, screen walls, bamboo groves, pools of water and beneath the sky, the scale of each piece varies and collectively they form a futuristic utopian urban landscape. The newly issued book "Shanshui City" - released simultaneously with the exhibition - is an important turning point for Ma Yansong's ten years of architectural practice and theory. More images and information on the exhibition after the break.
Refurbishment of a Warehouse / TAO - Trace Architecture Office
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Architects: TAO - Trace Architecture Office
- Area: 430 m²
- Year: 2009
Elite Group Headquarters / Crossboundaries
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Architects: Crossboundaries
- Area: 750 m²
- Year: 2012
360 HQ office / edg Corporation Ltd.
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Architects: edg Corporation Ltd.
- Area: 36000 m²
- Year: 2013
TAOA Studio / TAOA
Micro-house / Studio Liu Lubin
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Architects: Studio Liu Lubin
W House / Slow Architecture
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Architects: SLOW Architects
- Year: 2012
Iberia Center for Contemporary Art / Approach Architecture Studio
- Year: 2008
The Lushi Hill Club / Atelier Fronti
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Architects: Atelier Fronti
- Area: 1600 m²
- Year: 2003
Johnnie Walker House in Beijing / Asylum + LOVE
- Year: 2013
Anatomy of a Chinese City
In cities around the globe, change happens almost instantly. Buildings rise, buildings disappear, and skylines morph before one’s eyes. There is no better example of this, of course, than China. From Ordos to Shanghai, Chinese cities are in a constant state of flux, as the Chinese people willfully abandon signs of the past and embrace the new.
Of course, it’s one thing to know this fact; it’s quite another to witness it firsthand, to experience this urgent impetus to demolish and demolish in order to build, build, build, and build. In the face of such large-scale, exponential urban development, it’s easy to feel powerless to suggest another path.
However, in publishing Anatomy of a Chinese City, that is exactly what two young architects have done. By taking the time to observe the “urban artifacts” that make a Chinese city unique, compiling over 100 drawings of everything from buildings to bicycles, Thomas Batzenschlager and Clémence Pybaro have preserved a piece of Chinese history that is quickly going extinct.
In a world where, in the race for progress, quotidian realities are erased unthinkingly, Anatomy of a Chinese City is not just a resource, but a call-to-action, reminding us to slow down and observe the very human context that surrounds us.
Read more about Anatomy of a Chinese City, after the break...
Science and Technology Museum in Beijing / BL/KLM Architects + BIAD
Science and technology evolve at an astounding rate. They are in constant motion and change, with such fierce speed that both surprises and excites. The non-stop evolution is boundless, and it gets faster and more dynamic every day.