Master Plan: The Latest Architecture and News

Bjarke Ingels Group and A-Lab have unveiled their design of Oslo Science City, a new innovation district in Norway's capital that aims to create a physical framework for Norway’s innovation environment of estimated 150,000 scientists, students, entrepreneurs, and contribute to the country’s transition to renewable energy. The district aims to be a net zero emission area that operates on renewable energy and circular economic principles, as well as zero emission solutions during development and operation.

+ 16

Perkins&Will has revealed the designs of the second phase of Duke Kunshan University which reflect the natural context and local culture of Kunshan, China. The architecture blends nature and architecture, and highlights the university's ethos and education values through spaces dedicated for living and learning. The 189,334 sqm master plan includes 22 buildings of administration, educational, and recreational facilities.

+ 9

BIG has collaborated with global technology platform for luxury fashion Farfetch and Portuguese real estate developer Castro Group to create "Fuse Valley", a purpose-built urban fashion village on the slopes of the Leça River in Porto, Portugal. The platform's newly unveiled HQ will feature 12 uniquely-designed interconnected buildings that represent the different elements of the company’s organization. The project is set to break ground by early 2023, and open its doors in 2025.

+ 3

Aedas has unveiled Shenzhen C FutureCity, a two-phase project in Futian's Shangsha Village, Shenzhen. The design highlights how we "converse with the future and render a unique shopping experience that advances the development of the city" by creating an urban lifestyle center nestled between residential and corporate towers.

+ 10

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that Adjaye Associates and Studio Zewde's proposals have been selected to redevelop the unoccupied part of the Kingsboro Psychiatric Center campus in the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn. The $400 million project is part of the $1.4 Billion Vital Brooklyn Initiative, and will transform 7.2 abandoned acres in central Brooklyn into an ecological development with residential and commercial facilities.

Foster + Partners has revealed the master plan design proposal to regenerate Downtown Atlanta's Centennial Yards site. The 50-acre proposal transforms parking lots and former railyards into a community-oriented and inclusive mixed-use development of state-of-the-art buildings, amenities, and public spaces. The project is part of a $5 billion urban transformation and is being designed in collaboration with architecture firm Perkins+Will.

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill was selected to design the Olympic Village for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics following an international competition of 71 architecture studios from nine different countries. The project is part of the updated Porta Romana Railway Yard Master Plan, and will create a new center of activity in Porta Romana with minimal environmental impact. The self-sufficient project will feature residential, commercial, and public spaces, that change configurations based on the Olympics event.

Designed by Foster + Partners, with landscape architect Mark Rios, One Beverly Hills puts in place a unifying vision for Beverly Hills’ western gateway. Proposing two residential buildings, a new ultra-luxury hotel, a casual dining, and retail pavilion, and expansive publicly accessible botanical gardens, the development, expected to open in 2026, aims to become a striking and dynamic mixed-use project.

+ 1

As part of the Dogpatch mixed-use waterfront development, Foster + Partner's Power Station extension has finally broken ground. The master plan will create multiple new residential, commercial, and recreational spaces, honoring its industrial past and reconnecting the community with the San Francisco Bay waterfront. The architecture firm's 2-building proposal provides the neighborhood with an ideal urban framework to help create a vibrant, healthy, and inclusive community.

Adjaye Associates and Studio One Eleven, along with Continuum Partners will transform an industrial facility in downtown Los Angeles into a dynamic mixed-use master plan of residential, commercial, hospitality, and retail facilities. Titled Fourth & Central, the project proposes ten buildings, ranging in heights, design, and functions, transforming the area into a pedestrian-oriented community. The project, which is expected to break ground in 2024, will reflect the area's dynamic character with uniquely designed buildings that compliment the neighboring Arts District and Little Tokyo neighborhoods.

Daniel Libeskind and inLodz21 Institution are designing Nexus21, an urban revitalization project of 21 structures that vary between residential and commercial buildings to urban spaces. The new cultural hub is located in particular neighborhoods to promote the creativity and innovation that lies in the city, such as architecture, textiles, fashion, and film, which are all part of its heritage. The master plan will also work on the spaces in between the revived structures, creating a vibrant nexus between the old and the new, while adding value to the historic neighborhoods of Łódź, Poland.

Global architecture firm Perkins&Will, in collaboration with ARUP, Grimshaw Architects, EPS , AIM Consulting, and the City of Sacramento, have transformed the city's historic train station into a self-reliant and regenerative transportation hub, making it one of the most sustainable public areas in California. The design team worked alongside the local community to create a people-centric 31-acre master plan that reflects what the community envisions for a public train station and gateway to the city of Sacramento.

+ 4

Snøhetta has unveiled a new Central Campus Building for Ford Motor Company, part of the transformation of its Research & Engineering (R&E) Campus in Dearborn, Michigan. As the result of a 3-year research and planning process, the project was created in collaboration with IBI Group as the Architect of Record, Ghafari as the Engineer of Record, and Arup leading sustainability and engineering.

WXY Studio has partnered with the Downtown Davenport Partnership (DDP) to develop Davenport 30: A Resilient City, a new master plan that aims to provide a sustainable and inclusive city that reconnects its citizens to the surrounding neighborhoods. The award-winning architecture and urban design studio’s proposal focuses on revitalizing the city’s urban fabric and turning it into an innovative hub for businesses, entertainment, and leisure, all while prioritizing the citizens’ health.

After MAD’s Wormhole Library, the city of Haikou revealed a pavilion by Sou Fujimoto Architects. Scheduled for the end of spring, the ribbon-like white pavilion with an accessible roof will be one of the first public waterfront interventions to be completed in the spring of 2021. Shaping the future of Haikou city and Hainan Free Trade Port, the master plan of 16 permanent destinations re-imagines the future of coastal living.

+ 7

Foster + Partners has revealed its latest project for Qatar, a 1.1 million-square-meter landmark development consisting of four high-rise buildings. Part of a larger masterplan also designed by the architects, to be completed ahead of the 2022 Football World Cup in Qatar, Lusail Towers is envisioned as a “catalyst for a new central business district in the city”.

Going out twice per month, our curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture submitted by our readers highlights inventive conceptual approaches and designs. Showcasing projects from all over the world, this article puts together several programs, from houses to master plans. Moreover, it presents winning proposals from international competitions, buildings in progress, and creative concepts.

In the housing category, the roundup features an underground bunker-like house plan in Ukraine, a suspended glass structure cabin in Portugal, a complex of residential units in France, and a site-less, style-inclusive reinterpretation of the vertical housing block. In addition, a playful commercial building in Iran, a WWI memorial in Serbia, and an extension for the Glasgow School of Art join the selection, with their imaginative architecture and out of the box ideas.

+ 60

Alison Brooks Architects has created a landmark structure in the emerging area of Kings Cross in London, part of its Central Masterplan. The proposed mixed-use urban block containing 158 dwellings will reinforce the neighborhood’s “unique sense of place and celebrate its emerging and historic contexts”.

+ 4