mini: The Latest Architecture and News

The proposal for the Metro Station 20 by MSB Architects aims to create passing spaces, with the creation and delineation of structures and trees that provide the amenities for this occupation. Assuming that the city will grow to this area, this project may be structured in this new area of the city through the creation of common spaces – above and below ground – with a philosophy of unity at a visual and functional language. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The SmartPlayhouse children`s houses are authentic pieces of design work inspired by contemporary architecture. A modern and comfortable space that provides the children with their own private and safe place to play, developing their creativity and ability to share. Built with the highest quality materials and very resistant to rough weather conditions, they give children their own place to play, organize themselves and invite friends over. It`s a place where they can socialize, share with others, express their creativity, mature and have great experiences. It makes a great gift for the holiday season! Check them out here. More images of playhouses can be seen after the break.

MASS Design Group is encourage everyone to help, in any way, in their efforts to design, build, and advocate for buildings that improve health and strengthen communities. Architects have a unique ability to affect change by producing Well-Built Environments, those that are efficient, effective, and empowering. By applying architectural thinking to the full project delivery process we can engender social and political affects that help fight social inequity. For more information and to find out ways you can help, please visit their website here.

Karres en Brands Landschapsarchitecten + Polyform Arkitekter recently won the international competition for redesigning the Museum Garden of the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen, with their entry ‘SMK tilbage i Parken’ (‘SMK back in the park’). The project will be realized in collaboration with Svava Riesto, Oluf Jørgensen Ingeniører and Via Trafik. The design is based on the concept of connecting the museum garden with the neighbouring park Østre Anlæg, where, in the current situation, it turns its back on. By doing so, the SMK will be embedded into the park and the Museum Garden becomes the new entrance area for both the SMK and Østre Anlæg. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Comeandcheck.it and InTech Ltd. are releasing an international competition for designing transport-packaging. The goal of the project is to create and realize conceptual, esthetical, functional and technically sufficient or innovative packaging for transport of a hardcover book. The competition is open to all full-aged designers, artists and architects (both professionals and students) with the registration deadline December 30th and submission deadline on January 23rd. Your solution must protect the book from damage during transport and weigh less than 200g. For more information, visit the competition website here.

Architectural firm 10 Design from Shanghai and Hong Kong is inviting anyone of all ages – architects, students artists, all who are interested – to take part at their recently started competition, Re-thinking Shanghai 2012.

AIA Seattle, the Seattle Chapter of American Institute of Architects, with partners BetterBricks, the City of Seattle, and Architecture 2030 present AIA+2030 Professional Series: Prepare for the New Energy Future at Seattle City Hall.

The hotel proposal by BNKR Arquitectura aims to reproduce in material form the ephemeral process of the diffusion of sound. This is a process of vibrant outward expression and subsequent decay. It is a narrative of the loss of integrity and dematerialization in space. More images and architects’ description after the break.

109 Architectes recently took home the third prize at the 12th annual ThyssenKrupp Elevator Architecture Awards with their design for for the Disaster Prevention and Education Center in Bakırköy, Istanbul. A total of 287 projects from 59 countries were submitted to the competition. Participants were required to propose an Istanbul Disaster Prevention and Education Center on a 27,000m2 piece of land. The center will be equipped with educational resources including audiovisual equipment, simulation systems to recreate the experience of natural disasters, first aid supplies and emergency communication systems. In the center, a planetarium, library, information boards and meeting halls will serve to inform visitors. More images and project description after the break.

The main challenge of [Inter.National.Design] and Erginoğlu + Çalışlar for this project is to arrive to a proposal that could articulate not only an interesting and comfortable life for the users of the campus, but to take this opportunity to improve the urban articulation of this site located in front of the famous city wall, near the frozen zone of the tourist strip of Varosha and next to a potentially dynamic avenue. The campus should also serve as a place of social and cultural encounter open to all citizens, in that sense it should be a campus of excellence qualities of public space and accessibility. Finally, their last goal is be able to arrive to a formal scheme that can also integrate the dispersed and mixed presence of historic buildings and turning them from nuisances into assets of the university life. More images and architects’ description after the break.

National land charity the Land Trust and RIBA Competitions launched an international competition this week until the last week in March to find the most inspirational design and funding team to create a new visitor destination and public open space at the former Cronton Colliery in Knowsley. The competition is open to architects and architect-led multi-disciplinary design teams and will be in two stages, judged anonymously in the first stage. A shortlist will then be invited to enhance and present their designs and potential funding propositions at interview as part of the second stage. More information on the competition after the break.

Given the particular nature of the program described in the competition brief, the proposal for the Istanbul Disaster Center by DRA&U focuses on the realization of a visually striking building that also represents a challenge to traditional architecture and engineering. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Architectural designers Alan Cheung Kwok-lun and Sam Hau Sum-ming from Hong Kong have designed a conceptual passenger terminal building for the International Design Ideas Competition for Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point Passenger Terminal Building, in an attempt to link up China and Hong Kong through the reveal of nature. Inspired by the distant nature of the lands along the border, the proposed architecture does not merely fulfill the purpose of border crossing. It should be capable in enhancing the usability for both Hong Kong and Shenzhen citizens, as well as the aesthetic quality of the hidden natural surroundings. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Today, the existing station in Helsingborg is built into an anonymous office block. In the proposal by Metro Architects, the standalone station is expressed as a modern equivalent of the old train station from around 1860 which was located on the same site. The new structure will thus be an identity building and unifying node – for the station area as well as for Helsingborg as a whole becoming a signature building for the city. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Architect: John Ronan Architects Location: 111 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, USA Project Team: John Ronan AIA, Lead Designer; Marcin Szef, Tom Lee Graphic Designer: Studio Blue General contractor: Art Institute of Chicago Project Area: 6600 sqf Project Year: 2011 Photographs: Steve Hall/Hedrich Blessing

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The design proposal for the mobile school for Burmese refugees, by in situ studio with Matt Weiss and David Hill-AIA, is made of a series of collapsable frames that can be easily demounted and rearranged to accommodate a change of location or growth in a community. The proposal for the school, which won an honorable mention in the Building Trust International Competition, can be erected in one day in a collaborative effort, with twelve people assembling the frames and small groups cutting and weaving bamboo on site. The school provides a center for the community and claims territory for sustaining the community’s future. More images and project description after the break.

Under rapid housing developments in the past years, Hong Kong has benefited much in terms of economy. However, important values such as value in sense of community and individual identity were lost. This thesis hereby critically reviews current and past housing projects in Hong Kong and stating the notion of verticality as the only solution. The ambition of Y Design Office is a new alternative high-rise residential typology, in which its inhabitants are given unique units and allocations in accordance to specific zoning strategy within a tower structure, thus creating a phenomenal living experience through bonding and acquiring needs by each and every single individual. It is a re-interpretation of the balance between genericity and specificity aiming at formulating an extraordinary democratic living concept. More images and architects’ description after the break.

New Practices New York, a biennial competition since 2006, serves as the preeminent platform in New York City to recognize and promote new and innovative architecture and design firms. The juried portfolio competition is sponsored by the New Practices Committee of the AIA New York Chapter and honors firms that have utilized unique and innovative strategies, both for the projects they undertake and for the practices they have established. Participants must register by January 15th. To register and for more detailed information, please visit their website here.