mini: The Latest Architecture and News

Public voting started this past week and will go on until July 22 for the inaugural George Matsumoto Prize for North Carolina Modernist residential design, a unique architecture competition sponsored by nonprofit Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH).

Designed by MIRO architects, the starting point for their Klaksvik City Center proposal kept with the language of the genesis of urban nuclei: the form is inherited from the land, shaped by the surroundings as well as the needs and functions that are to be hosted in its nest. This also involved morphing to fit its context as well as accommodate for a plenitude of public spaces. The shape of the new core is based off of a landfill on the bottom of the bay. Even if it is possibly a random shape, it represents a fundamental step in the history of the town: the creation of the tunnel to southern islands. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Designed by o2a studio, the man-made structure for the Natural History Museum in Jerusalem is designated to celebrate the transcendent force and majesty of nature, which is a contradiction in terms. The paradoxical question that arises when approaching the design of a building that is dedicated as a showcase for the unbuilt, is how does one bridge this conceptual gap between the man-made and the organic – between the artificial and the natural. The proposal aims to highlight this difficulty, while allowing for a composite coexistence between the natural and the artificial – interpreted here as ranging between various degrees of control. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Ziya Imren, Barış Ekmekçi, and Münire Sagat shared with us their second prize winning proposal for the Gallipoli Agadere Memorial & Hospital Museum. One of the main ideas of the project is the purpose of bringing a modern approach to the concept of preservation. The result is a solution that is respectful to the martyrs and the land, but at the same time one in which the historical memory is protected via exposing the historic and cultural potential. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Doug Patt, an architect and the author of the book, ‘How to Architect’, teaches about architecture through the use of videos, drawings, books, stories etc. He shared with us his book and a video about being and becoming an architect, which was just released by MIT Press earlier this year. Available globally, this is great for students considering the field or studying architecture. This is also beneficial for architects who want to remember why they became one.

In the book, Patt creatively transforms the word ‘architect’ from a noun to a verb. He presents to readers the basics of architecture with chapters A-Z and takes you on a journey into how architects think from design and construction jargon to characteristics, such as ‘quirky’ and ‘zeal’. A video and a brief review of the book after the break.

The city of Sydney has launched an international design competition as part of the the Green Square Development Project for a new Library Centre and Plaza at the heart of a 278 hectare area south of the city centre. The Green Square Development project is an initiative to redevelop a 278 hectare area south of the city centre of Sydney, Australia by bringing in diverse functions of housing, open spaces, offices and facilities that contribute to a vibrant, sustainable community. The library will be designed as a community centre and hub and used as an educational and creative resource, as well as a lounge. The project is allotting $40 million for the design and construction of the new facility and should be an integrated whole between the library and plaza which will also be a host to public arts, community events and markets. Stage one entries close on August 21st. Visit the official Green Square Library website to learn more.

More details on the competition and the project after the break.

WEAVA Architects shared with us their proposal for the protestant church of Dong Sheng district, in the city of Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China. After three years of being on stand-by and having the site relocated twice, the city and the Association of Protestants of Ordos came to an agreement to pursue the construction of the new church. As a result, the team revealed a fresh and even more accomplished design scheme, which is based on one of the most ecclesiastical symbols. This led them to the dove of peace, which is the main concept for this church. More images and architects’ description after the break.

From the archeological areas of Stonehenge to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, Google’s World Wonders Project is dedicated to digitally preserving and virtually sharing the World’s Heritage Sites. Users can explore some of the world’s greatest places through panoramic images, 3D laser scanned models, videos and informative text. Although Google World Wonders is a new and ongoing project, they already have more than 130 sites in 18 countries featured. The project is also an educational resource, allowing students and scholars to use the materials to discover some of the most famous sites on earth. A selection of free educational packages are available to download for classroom use.

Google World Wonders is made possible through the partnership of Google, UNESCO, the World Monuments Fund and Cyark, with a shared mission to preserve world heritage sites for future generations.

Start exploring here.

The hand-drawn work of Chris Dent takes on the modern metropolis – depicting architecture in a way that is at once meticulously accurate & playfully imaginative.

The Alvar Aalto Museum’s first mobile-phone service, AALTOsites, brings the Alvar Aalto-designed buildings in the Metropolitan Helsinki region to your smartphone. AALTOsites, downloadable free for smartphones, puts an interface to Aalto’s architecture and design directly into the user’s pocket.

Erottaja Pavilion, the Otaniemi campus, the Sähkötalo Electricity Building, and Artek, founded in 1935 as a showcase for Aalto’s design, are just some of the numerous Aalto sites shown by the service. More information on the mobile guide after the break.

WOHA‘s traveling exhibition, ‘Breathing Architecture’, is on its way to Taichung, Taiwan after a successful run at the acclaimed Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM) in Frankfurt. Taking place at the Taichung Info-Box July 26-September 23, the exhibition features concepts of open structures which embrace aspects of community and permeability of form in response to climate and nature.

The building of the Municipal Library and Archives Grândola by ER Studio aims to be a timeless reference, an icon that represents not only the past and present of the town of Grândola, but also their future ambitions. Their idea of the Monolith reminds us of the past buildings that have withstood the time, a library and an archive are nothing more than a large repository of knowledge that makes the bridge between past and present. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The 10 winners of the fifth VMZINC® Archizinc Trophy awards program, sponsored by the Umicore Group, were unveiled this month at the Terrass Kardinal in Paris. The bi-annual competition for architects requires that the submitted designs use VMZINC solutions in original projects. VMZINC is the international rolled zinc products brand manufactured and marketed by Umicore Building Products USA, headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. Winners included six projects in the categories “Private Housing,” “Commercial Buildings,” and “Public Buildings”. More information on the winners after the break.

Architects love LEGOs, this is a well-known fact. So what could be better than a real-life bridge made out of the colorful toys themselves?

Unfortunately, of course, the LEGOs are actually an optical illusion designed by street artist Martin Heuwold of MEGX - but that doesn’t make the project look any less awesome. The bridge, painted last fall, is part of an Urban renewal project in the city of Wuppertal meant “to reinvigorate the city and increase residents’ quality of life.” The High Line-style bridge is actually part of a larger 10-mile cycle path being built on what was once the city’s Northern Railway.

More pics of the LEGO Bridge, as well as a LEGO forest & a real-life Monopoly board on the streets of Chicago, after the break…

Story via A/N Blog and Colossal

Archipelago Mobile, a master plan proposal by Kyung Jae Kim, Gregory Haley, Suah Na, Heejoo Shi, and Halley Tsai, attempts to address and enhance the city of Helsinki. Known as a city ‘in-between’, their design envisions a revitalized South Harbor district, configured to mediate between land and water uses, resident and tourist amenities, port traffic and pedestrian space. By weaving these often competing requirements together in ways that not only allow but enhance their co-existence, they present an integrated model for postindustrial waterfront development in general, and a unique vision for a dynamic cultural district in the heart of the city. More images and architects’ description after the break.

CLOG is currently seeking submissions for its fifth issue, CLOG: National Mall, which will be published in November 2012. In an election year when America is debating and deciding its trajectory, it’s time to critically discuss the space that perhaps more than any other reflects what the nation was, is, and wants to be – the National Mall. Visited annually by approximately thirty million people, the Mall is also a victim of its own success as its grounds and monuments have been steadily eroded by overcrowding in addition to budgetary and administrative pressures. Submissions are due on July 20, 2012 by midnight. For more information, please visit their website here.

Today marks the opening of world-renowned architect, Santiago Calatrava’s unprecedented exhibition at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. Not only will Calatrava become the first contemporary architect to have a retrospective exhibition at the Hermitage, but this will also be one of his largest and most extensive exhibitions to date. Curated by Cristina Carillo de Albornoz and Ksenia Malich, the exhibition will examine Calatrava’s innovative style through his various artistic realms. From never-before-seen paintings and sculptures to celebrated architectural models and sketches spanning Calatrava’s 30- plus year career, the exhibition will give individuals a unique opportunity to explore the inner workings and creative process of this celebrated artist. More images and information on the event after the break.

Participants in the Skanska Bridging Prague competition were asked to develop a new Vision Plan for the section of the riverfront from Libeňsk (Bridge) to the north to Železniční (Railway Bridge) in Smíchov to the south. The goal was to create a unified experience, linking cultural, recreational, ecological, historical and economic opportunities. They were also asked to design an intervention that will become a premiere destination along the river Vltava. The first prize winning proposal by Pete North focuses on strengthening the natural characteristics of places at the riverside, where it is consistent and feasible. It aims to create a synergy between park localities and the river, connected into a consequent chain of continuous spaces. More images and winning proposals after the break.