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To celebrate Earth Day, real estate developers Urban Villages and Studio Gang have unveiled and broken ground on "Populus", the first carbon positive hotel in the United States. Set to open in late 2023, the 265-room hotel in Denver features a rooftop restaurant and bar, designed as a significant milestone for the future of sustainable travel that meets the needs of travelers, the community, and the environment.
The oldest record of barrel vaults is estimated to date back to 4000 BC. These provided the spans in the Sumerian ziggurat at Nippur in Babylonia, built from fired bricks amalgamated with clay mortar. This type of vault was built as a continuous round arch and became a characteristic architectural element of Roman architecture, later used also in Renaissance architecture.
BIG revealed the design for a treetop hotel room wrapped in 350 bird houses created for the Treehotel in Lapland, Sweden. Designed in collaboration with ornithologist Ulf Ohman, the 34 square-metre Biosphere room seeks to enhance the surrounding biosphere by providing a habitat for local birds while allowing guests to be immersed in the surrounding forest. The project is the latest addition to the hotel's series of individually designed rooms created by some of Scandinavia's most renowned architects, such as Snøhetta, Rintala Eggerstsson, and Tham & Videgard.
After the announcement of the selected projects in the categories of Airports, Campus, Railway Stations and Sports, followed by the announcement of the 70 Continental Winning Projects of the Prix Versailles 2021 in the categories of Shops, Shopping Centres, Hotels and Restaurants, there turned out to be a total of 94 new projects competing in the 2021 Prix Versailles World Final.
Oppenheim Architecture and Saudi developers The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC) have unveiled the design of a new mountain resort nestled in the wadi vistas of western Saudi Arabia. Titled Desert Rock, the project draws inspiration from the surrounding geography, allowing guests to connect with the nature and the local culture of the region through a fully nature-integrated architecture.
The built environment of Far East Asia is challenging the paradigm through urban developments that are centered around principles of sustainability, community, and user-centric design. Following concerns of high-density neighborhoods and compromised landscapes, architects of that region became aware that building for the future means changing their outlook on financially-driven projects with unsustainable strategies, and replacing them with structures that put the user and the environment at the forefront.
From an all-around panoramic hotel on The Philippines's waterfront to an emotion-provoking memorial inspired by the rain in South Korea, this round up of unbuilt projects showcases how architects merged the Far East's culture, history, and unique geography with contemporary designs, creating state-of-the-art architecture. This round up also includes projects from China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Hong Kong.
Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund has announced that it will convert an oil rig into a 150,000 square meter amusement park and resort located in the Arabian Gulf. Titled "THE RIG.", the project is expected to be the world's first touristic destination built on offshore oil platforms, featuring three hotels, eleven world-class restaurants, roller coaster rides, and extreme sports and activities like bungee jumping and skydiving, all accessible via a ferry, yacht, cruise, or helicopter.
Marcel Breuer’s Pirelli Tire Building, a beacon of Brutalist architecture in the United States, is being reimagined as a hotel by development company Becker and Becker. After being abandoned for years, the structure was sold to architect and developer Bruce Redman Becker in 2020 with plans to transform it into a sustainable 165-room hotel. The sculptural concrete structure aims to be a model for passive design hotels using its unique architectural features and innovative adaptive reuse techniques.
Oppenheim Architecture have unveiled the design of the Jali Hotel and Residences, a new luxury complex on Albania's southern coast. The project will nestle in the site's picturesque landscape and seaside, and provide visitors and residents with a public square, recreational amenities, and access to a vibrant beachside club that pay homage to traditional Albanian coastal structures.
Jasper Architects has recently won a competition to design an immersive hotel experience within the desert landscape of Kuwait. Featuring a curved structure echoing the surrounding dunes, the project is intended to recreate an oasis where visitors can fully observe the natural environment. Through its colors, textures, use of wood, and rammed earth, the concept emulates the surrounding. Reiterating the local topography, a circular roof rises and touches the ground, creating an array of alternating interior and exterior spaces.
Büro Ole Scheeren has unveiled its design for a hotel resort in Cebu, one of the most popular destinations in the Philippines. Taking inspiration from the island’s natural landscape and traditional architecture, the project brings together lush greenery, pools and waterfalls within a volume wrapped in arches reminiscent of local structures. The design team describes the project as “a journey through the rainforest”, where architecture, interior design and landscape converge into a multi-sensory experience.
This week's curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture highlights different competition-winning designs submitted by the ArchDaily Community. From large scale urban developments to small interventions in the landscape, from commercial projects to public spaces and urban planning strategies with an environmental focus, this article showcases a variety of design approaches, programs and scales. The proposals featured are the results of local and international competitions, either creative concepts or projects currently in progress.
The award-winning entries include a range of different projects, designed by both young architects and established firms. An adaptive reuse project for office towers in New York, the redevelopment of an industrial site in China, an abstract installation for a Russian festival, or a masterplan focused on climate resilience and ecosystems protection are a few of this week's highlights.
After ongoing uncertainties about the future state of the The Nakagin Capsule Tower Building, Kisho Kurokawa Architects and Urban Design Office Chiyoda-ku, have decided to dismantle the iconic architecture and regenerate its capsules as accommodation units and museum installations across the world. The regeneration plan follows the initial concept of "Metabolism", re-configurating the elements instead of complete demolition.
Last year, Archdaily inaugurated its first edition of Young Practices, an initiative meant to highlight emerging offices that pursue architectural innovation. Carl Gerges Architects is a Lebanese practice whose body of work is a careful consideration of culture, context, and heritage. Villa Nadia and Batroun Boutique Hotel are two of the studio’s unbuilt projects that showcase the assemblage of architectural tradition and contemporary design, informed by a poetic sensibility and a deep understating of the local social, environmental and historical landscape.
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Most of the world's population today lives in large, vibrant, energetic, and sometimes chaotic cities. This is why, usually, when we think of taking some time off from our responsibilities and daily routines we picture ourselves lying on virgin beaches, relaxing in a faraway forest, or immersed in a tropical jungle.
Hospitality architecture has a wide variety of solutions for all types of travelers and tourists. For those wanting to disconnect completely from daily city life while being closely connected to nature, a good option could be small-scale hotels, cabins, and lodges set directly in these natural environments.
_Studio_Gang.jpg?1650877933 "© Studio Gang")
_Studio_Gang.jpg?1650877902 "© Studio Gang")
_Studio_Gang.jpg?1650877802 "© Studio Gang")
_Maureen_M._Evans.jpg?1646840531 "© Maureen M. Evans")
