The year 2022 was marked by several socio-cultural and economic crises across the globe, from the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the increasing cost of living worldwide, combined with a number of natural disasters such as the devastating floods in Pakistan and hurricane Ian in the US. In these difficult times, architects are stepping up and embracing their role in developing design-based solutions to humanitarian crises, ranging from temporary shelters and affordable housing schemes to centers for protecting at-risk groups such as homeless underage girls, children from low-income environments, or families in need of medical care.
This week's curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture highlights projects submitted by the ArchDaily community that engage with their local communities, offering safe spaces for disadvantaged and at-risk groups. From a sanctuary for homeless girls in Iraq to an affordable housing project in Prague’s first skyscraper, this selection features projects centered around people, their needs, and desires. Many of the projects employ local materials such as clay bricks to lower the construction costs. They also reuse existing buildings and hope to engage the local community in building and appropriating the proposed spaces.
In any city, cultural centers can play a significant role in preserving and celebrating the community’s heritage and history, officing space for a vast array of activities and initiatives to encourage social interaction and the sharing of ideas and memories. They are also institutions that promote education and learning, often offering classes, workshops, and lectures on various topics related to culture, history, and the arts. By fulfilling these crucial roles within a given community, they can also become attractive centers for tourists eager to learn about local identities, cultures, and traditions.
El Cosmico 3D-printed Hotel - exterior. Image Courtesy of ICON, BIG for El Cosmico
Hospitality expert Liz Lambert has announced a collaboration with ICON, the office that pioneered large-scale 3D printing, and BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group, to rebuild El Cosmico, a campground hotel in Marfa, Texas. The team plans to relocate the venue to a 62 acres plot, where new architectural approaches are made possible by including advanced technologies and 3D-printing elements such as domes, vaults, and parabolic forms. The innovative development will feature guest accommodation and new hospitality programming, including a pool, spa, and shared communal facilities. The project is expected to break ground in 2024.
The Austin Transit Partnership has selected UNStudio, HKS, and Gehl to lead the architecture and urban design of Project Connect, a major expansion of the public transportation system in Austin, Texas, in the United States. The project is set to become a transformative investment, including and integrating the light rail system, expanded bus routes, and connectivity with more services across the city. The initiative is also voter-approved. In November 2020, Austin citizens approved Project Connect, leading to the creation of the independent entity Austin Transit Partnership charged with implementing the project. The citizens of Austin are invited to continue to get involved and provide feedback.
On January 31st, construction scaffolding and barriers were disassembled from the site at 56 Leonard Street, revealing Anish Kapoor’s first permanent artwork in New York City. The 48-foot-long, 19-foot-tall, 40-ton sculpture is nestled partially beneath the Herzog & de Meuron-designed residential building in the Tribeca neighborhood in Lower Manhattan. The mirrored sculpture is reminiscent of Kapoor;’s work called Cloud Gate, also known as “The Bean,” in Chicago, US.
Cleveland-based gallery SPACES has been selected to organize the US exhibition at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale in collaboration with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. As curators, Tizziana Baldenebro, the executive director of the gallery, has collaborated with Lauren Leving, a curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, on the proposal. Together they plan to fill the space of the pavilion with works in plastic by architecture professors, designers, and artists. The exhibition, titled “Everlasting Plastics”, aims to examine the role of this material “both literally and as a cultural metaphor”.
Heatherwick Studio has been commissioned to redesign and transform a central element of Harley-Davidson’s Headquarters in Milwaukee, US, the Juneau Avenue campus. The location is set to become a public park and green gathering space for the employees of the motorcycle company, as well as for the local community. In its center, the park features a large-scale amphitheater and sunken multi-use events space designed to be accessible to motorcycle riders. The project is set to break ground in 2023, with the park becoming available for use by the summer of 2024.
New Orleans experiences the worst urban heat island effect in the country, with temperatures nearly 9 F° higher than nearby natural areas. The city also lost more than 200,000 trees from Hurricane Katrina, dropping its overall tree canopy to just 18.5 percent.
The non-profit organization Sustaining Our Urban Landscape (SOUL) partnered with landscape architects at Spackman Mossop Michaels (SMM) to create a highly accessible, equity-focused reforestation plan for the city that provides a roadmap for achieving a tree canopy of 24 percent by 2040. But more importantly, the plan also seeks to equalize the canopy, so at least 10 percent of all 72 neighborhoods are covered in trees. Currently, more than half of neighborhoods are under the 10 percent goal.
Adjaye Associates, in collaboration with Holst Architecture, the prime architect of record, have unveiled the first renderings for the new East County Library in Portland, Oregon, a new facility that will provide a diverse range of services and programming. The design of the 95,000-square-foot building is informed through extensive community engagement and feedback. Several local organizations aid these efforts by organizing public community events, focus groups, teen outreach, and surveys. As the project is currently in the schematic design phase, the images presented are early drafts, likely to change to reflect the input received.
Figure x J. Jih Architecture Collective, led by James Leng and Jennifer Ly in collaboration with J. Roc Jih San Francisco, CA. Image Courtesy of Courtesy City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs
The city of Los Angeles has selected six finalists for the competition to design a new memorial dedicated to the victims of the 1871 Chinese Massacre. In one of the darkest chapters in the city’s history, on 21 October 24, roughly ten percent of the city’s Chinese population at the time, at least 18 residents, were murdered by a mob of rioters. The memorial seeks to raise public awareness of the 1871 racially motivated mass killing while simultaneously addressing contemporary concerns regarding race, intolerance, and violence. The memorial was first announced in April 2021, and it is set to be built near the site of the massacre and the Chinese American Museum.
New York-based studio Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU) has been selected to lead the design for the Niagara Falls Heritage Gateway project. This reimagined public gateway aims to reinvigorate the site, attract new visitors, and stimulate the local economy. As part of the “Downtown Niagara Falls Development Strategy,” the project also aims to strengthen the connections between downtown Niagara Falls and the Niagara Falls State Park. The project is expected to be completed in 2024.
Snøhetta unveiled the design of a new building and landscape design for the Vesterheim campus in Decorah, Iowa. The campus, which also contains the National Norwegian-American Museum and Folk Art School, explores the diversity of American immigration through the lens of the Norwegian-American experience. The new 8,000-square-foot building, known as “the Commons,” is set to become the entry point and main gathering space for the cultural campus. Aside from anchoring the site, the intervention also aims to strengthen the site’s connection to the city. The building is scheduled to be completed in the Summer of 2023.
Master plans, or large-scale urban planning projects, are one of the main tools for shaping and structuring land use and development to ensure that the built environment is coherent and functional. The interventions vary in scope and approach. While some projects are extending the buildable area by creating floating neighborhoods off the coast of Florida, others are reusing the existing spaces and heritage to reimagine the future of their communities.
The interest in co-living is on the rise, a direction emphasized by the merger between the largest co-living operator in the US, Common, and their European equivalent, Habyt. The two companies manage more than 4,000 apartments in the US and 7,000 apartments in Europe and Asia, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. The term co-living refers to a modern form of group housing where residents share communal spaces for socializing, cooking, and gathering, and have access to shared amenities such as cleaning services or dog walking.
Tu Casa by Lutolli Architects + Partners. Image Courtesy of Lutolli Architects + Partners
Architects play an important role in creating healthy, functional and aesthetically pleasing environments. Interior design represents a natural continuation of the same prerogative, and its importance has been accentuated in recent years, from the lockdown forcing many people to remain indoors for extended periods of time, to the rise of remote work. The task of the interior designer is not decorating spaces, but planning for an effective use of space, understanding the needs of the user and highlighting the intrinsic qualities of a space. Acoustics, lighting, material properties and proportions all play a role in achieving a coherent and enjoyable interior space.
This week’s curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture highlights interior design projects submitted by the ArchDaily community. From a pastel-colored library in Turkey to a renovated symphony hall in San Diego, US, this selection of unbuilt projects showcases how architects design interior spaces by integrating textures, materials, light, and color in well-proportioned spaces. The article includes projects from Turkey, US, Switzerland, Indonesia, UK, and Denmark.
LEVER Architecture has been selected to lead the design team for the campus expansion of the Portland Museum of Art. The project aims to not only expand the existing campus but also to create a unified identity for the institution, one that ties together all the architecturally significant buildings on site. The winning proposal is primarily a mass timber structure inspired by Maine’s communities, history, and culture.
As the new year begins, we look forward to the most exciting projects planned to open in 2023. The world's second-tallest tower is currently under construction in Malaysia; Egypt is almost ready to open its largest archeological museum, while MVRDV is currently renovating a large-scale brutalist landmark in Albania. Featuring internationally renown architectural offices such as Snøhetta, OMA, Studio Gang, Zaha Hadid Architects, BIG, along with the latest winner of the Pritzker Prize, Francis Kéré, the following selection presents projects from all around the world. They also range in scale and program, from international airports to sculptural arts galleries or museum expansions.
Several projects presented here have also featured in the previous year's compilation. Resource availability and labor issues generated by the pandemic have also continued to influence opening schedules, but with a diminishing impact. Following the predicted trends for 2023, more and more projects involve the adaptive reuse of existing structures. An underlying theme is visible in the increased interest in expanding artistic and cultural venues and integrating historical heritage into the expression of contemporary architecture.
Every “Year In Review” assessment of anything is both myopic and timely. That being said, 2022 was a "Boom" time for architects (and the building industry in general). This snapshot will change in 2023 when this year’s manufactured interest rate jumps will crib death this short and intense boom.
But some things have more meaning than can be found in the moment. 2022 proved that the “Mad Men” model in the profession as a white male clubhouse is over. Gender and race inequalities remain in architecture, but they are acknowledged flaws in urgent need of correction. Beyond these evolutions and revolutions, a new generation of architects is changing the profession.
