Diller Scofidio + Renfro: The Latest Architecture and News

The Reimagining of the Dallas Museum of Art International Design Competition has revealed its shortlisted entries. Announced by the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA), the six finalists selected from a total of 154 submissions worldwide are David Chipperfield Architects, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Johnston Marklee, Michael Maltzan Architecture, Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos, and Weiss/Manfredi. The museum just released images of the competition finalists’ design concepts, and the public is invited to comment on the different proposals.

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Diller Scofidio + Renfro has won an international competition to design the new Pina Bausch Zentrum in Wuppertal, Germany. Pina Bausch’s legacy as a dancer and choreographer will be celebrated in the design and revitalization of the Tanztheater Wuppertal, as well as in the creation of a new production center. The building will emerge out of the ethos of Pina Bausch, setting an example for a new generation of leadership in the world of choreography.

Apart from the production stage centers, the design includes an archive of Pina Bausch's enormous artistic legacy, comprising a library, study, and research areas, and a public platform to promote community involvement with many creative and academic disciplines. Various contrasting and flexible spaces that encourage and foster conversation across the project's numerous program components are found throughout the proposed design.

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Scale is a term that has dominated the architectural profession for as long as built structures have existed. In the literal sense, scale defines the measurable standards that we have come to know and accept —the widths of door frames, a car turn radius, and of course, a means of producing measurable drawings. In a more abstract and figurative representation, scale describes a feeling of individual experiences when comparing themselves or a familiar object to something unfamiliar.

Diller Scofidio + Renfro, in collaboration with Dallas Theater Center, unveiled the design proposal for the Kalita Humphreys Theater master plan, centered around one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s lesser-known buildings. Over the years, neglect and additions have compromised the building’s integrity. The project aims to restore the mid-century theater to its original state by applying a multifaceted approach. According to the architects, this includes surgical extraction, selective reconstruction, preservation, and a faithful reinterpretation of Wright’s design intent. The master plan also aims to transform the surrounding public green space into an active and attractive park connected to Turtle Creek and Katy Trail, some of the most visited destinations in Dallas.

The marquee-busting title says it all: Joseph Giovannini’s Architecture Unbound is an ambitious attempt to explore the wilder shores of design and explain how and why maverick architects have dared greatly. It’s also a wide-ranging introduction to artists who laid the groundwork for architectural innovation a century ago; to the philosophers and theorists who mapped new ways of thinking, and to the complexities of chaos theory, parametric and software programs that have shaped exceptional buildings over the past few decades.

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The Barbican Centre is up for a substantial renovation, and the City of London Corporation revealed the five shortlisted teams for the refurbishment of the Brutalist icon, among which are practices like BIG, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Adjaye Associates or Asif Khan Studio. The cultural venue at the heart of the eponymous post-war housing estate in central London was the subject of an international competition aiming to preserve its heritage while upgrading the ageing structure to contemporary requirements and artistic aspirations.

Videos

The Second Studio (formerly The Midnight Charette) is an explicit podcast about design, architecture, and the everyday. Hosted by Architects David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet, it features different creative professionals in unscripted conversations that allow for thoughtful takes and personal discussions.

A variety of subjects are covered with honesty and humor: some episodes are interviews, while others are tips for fellow designers, reviews of buildings and other projects, or casual explorations of everyday life and design. The Second Studio is also available on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube.

This week David and Marina are joined by Charles Renfro, Partner at Diller Scofidio + Renfro, to discuss Charles’ childhood and early interests in architecture, his education and linking ideas of sexual freedom with architecture, joining Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio, becoming a partner at his office, his design philosophy, how New York has changed, and more.

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Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) with a team led by Charles Renfro has been selected to design Rice University's New Arts Building named the Susan and Fayez Sarofim Hall. The design will serve as a new gateway to the university's campus and will incorporate exhibition areas, labs, studios, shops, faculty offices, and other facilities in a prefabricated expandable building.

Videos

Welcome to the Slow House, Diller and Scofidio’s (now Diller, Scofidio and Renfro) first building commission for Long Island, in NY. The crescent-shaped slug doppelganger, was a pivotal design for the firm — and architecture at large — when it was first revealed in 1990. However, the building was never built, living only through its extensive catalog of models and drawings. In this video, the Slow House is digitally reconstructed, analyzed and explored to discover unique elements lurking in its design that can only be revealed through a first-person experience. From delayed million-dollar views, to CCTV feeds of the water, to dozens of operable plywood doors and shades, the house is truly a machine for viewing. And now, you can view it for yourself. 

Paul Clemence has released a new series of images showcasing the incomplete construction of Diller Scofidio + Renfro's Copacabana Museum of Image and Sound (MIS). The project first took shape in 2014 but was completely suspended in 2016. Although the project has been untouched since then, a recent announcement by Governor Cláudio Castro promised the revival of construction works at the museum, with an expected public opening in early 2023.

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Columbia University’s Manhattanville Campus expansion has ushered in a crystalline district of glass-clad buildings amid the masonry vernacular architecture of Harlem. The latest additions to the 17-acre, $6.3 billion campus, which was master-planned by SOM, are two buildings designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) in collaboration with FXCollaborative that provide a new home for the Columbia Business School. Set to open in early 2022, Henry R. Kravis Hall and the East Building rise 11 and 8 stories, respectively, and provide 492,000 square feet of classrooms, public space, and faculty offices.

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Led by OUTCOMIST, an international design team including Diller Scofidio + Renfro, PLP Architecture, CRA - Carlo Ratti Associati, and Arup won the competition to revitalize the Porta Romana Railway Area, transforming the industrial site into a diverse green neighborhood in Milan. Rehabilitating a disused railway yard into a connective tissue that links the southeast area of the city to the center, the development will generate a rich biodiverse public space, including a large urban park.

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Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Woods Bagot have unveiled their design for the new Aboriginal Art and Cultures Centre (AACC) in Adelaide, Australia. Designed around a "deep Aboriginal connection to Country, place and kin" as the project's foundation, the cultural project aims to become a platform for honoring and developing Australian culture. The AACC concept originates from the Aboriginal conception of the elements linking people to place: earth, land and sky.

Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS + R) and Stefano Boeri Architetti have won the international architectural competition for the renovation of Pirelli 39 in Milan. Launched on 25 November 2019, the contest organized by COIMA SGR and the municipality of Milan, gathered 70 submissions made up of 359 studios from 15 countries.

The RENAZCA international competition has released a shortlist for the design of the financial district of Azca in Madrid, Spain, according to El Pais. Directed by IE School of Architecture and Design Martha Thorne and Edgar González, the competition aims to transform the district into the most important economic and cultural node in the Spanish capital. The winning team will be chosen at the end of January 2021 and will have the task of transforming the sector into a "new, open, sustainable urban space connected to the city."