London: The Latest Architecture and News

A new vision of the map for London’s Tube has been posted to depict a more geographically accurate representation of the underground train system. Navigate through the map for yourself here: http://www.london-tubemap.com/.

Entries from across the globe have flooded in, with some of the world’s most iconic buildings being shortlisted to set the benchmark for the Architectural world in 2011. This year looks set to be the toughest competition yet. With practices flying in from all over the globe, The Emirates Glass LEAF Awards 2011 is now regarded by many of the world’s architectural community as the annual event for viewing quality international design and build projects.

The awards will be celebrated and honored at London’s Landmark Hotel on September 16th, 2011 for the buildings and design solutions that are setting the benchmark for the future of architecture and design. The Architectural community from across the globe will gather at The Emirates Glass LEAF Awards which will double up as an international networking event. This gathering of industry experts will include a judging panel comprising of key individuals drawn from various areas of the international architectural design and construction community. More images and the complete shortlist awards after the break.

Atrium’s recent design move from modern furniture supply to fine lighting was celebrated and explained through a carefully choreographed space designed by Studio RHE. The result was an interactive open space with central reception that could easily be transformed into a darkened showroom – with a little twist.

Read on for more after the break.

The Architectural Association and Foster + Partners are pleased to announce the award of the Foster + Partners Prize, which is presented annually to the AA Diploma student whose portfolio best addresses the themes of sustainability and infrastructure. The recipient is selected jointly by the AA and Foster + Partners at the end of each academic year. This year’s prize has been awarded to Aditya Aachi, of Diploma Unit 7, for his project Haiti Simbi Hubs. The project proposes sanitation infrastructure for Haiti and draws on the unprecedented need for cooperation between the Haitian Government and NGOs to combat cholera outbreaks. Read more at Foster + Partners.

Next week we will be taking our Architecture City Guide to London and we need your help. To make the City Guides more engaging we are asking for your input on which designs should comprise our weekly list of 12. In order for this to work we will need you, our readers, to suggest a few of your favorite modern/contemporary buildings for the upcoming city guide in the comment section below. Along with your suggestions we ask that you provide a link to an image you took of the building that we can use, the address of the building, and the architect. (The image must be from a site that has a Create Common License cache like Flickr or Wikimedia. We cannot use images that are copyrighted unless they are yours and you give us permission.) From that we will select the top 12 most recommended buildings. Hopefully this method will help bring to our attention smaller well done projects that only locals truly know. With that in mind we do not showcase private single-family residences for obvious reasons. Additionally, we try to only show completed projects.

The 2011 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion by Pritzker laureate Peter Zumthor was unveiled today. A design that ‘aims to help its audience take the time to relax, to observe and then, perhaps, start to talk again – maybe not’, the materials are significant in aiding the design which emphasizes the role the senses and emotions play in our experience of architecture.

Zumthor added that ‘the concept for this year’s Pavilion is the hortus conclusus, a contemplative room, a garden within a garden. The planted garden enclosed by this dark structure was conceived by the influential Dutch designer Piet Oudolf.

The building acts as a stage, a backdrop for the interior garden of flowers and light. Through blackness and shadow one enters the building from the lawn and begins the transition into the central garden, a place abstracted from the world of noise and traffic and the smells of London – an interior space within which to sit, to walk, to observe the flowers. This experience will be intense and memorable, as will the materials themselves – full of memory and time.’

More info after the break:

Located just outside of the Connaught Hotel in London’s Mayfair district is Tadao Ando’s latest work. The iconic Japanese architect’s water installation is best described as ‘liquid sliding over glass lenses’. The pool surface is covered with a series of glass lenses that sit just below the water, and on intervals steam arises nearly masking the mature trees that sit within the installation. Ando’s piece is one of the most recent additions to Mayfair which has experienced numerous refurbishment projects creating a resurgence in this part of the city.

Summer DLab experiments with digital design tools and rapid prototyping techniques as integrated systems of design development. Taking advantage of its unique location within the AA premises in the heart of the London, the workshop will create a vibrant atmosphere not only through its rigorous studio work, but also by its public lecture programme that will share the diverse expertise of professionals from London’s leading offices in the areas of digital design and fabrication techniques.

Silvertree, designed by Studio RHE, is a landmark 24-storey ‘green’ apartment tower located in London’s Royal Docks. It has been granted planning approval and will commence construction in summer 2011. The mixed-use tower will house 161 high-quality 2-3 bedroom apartments, retail and office space and a cafe.

For more on this project, read on after the break.