The Municipality of Paysandú commissioned OMA (Office of Metropolitan Architecture) to draw up the project for the urban transformation of Paysandú's waterfront. Covering an area of about 350 hectares, the Master Plan extends from the "General José Artigas" International Bridge, which links Paysandú with Argentina on the northern border, to the mouth of the Sacra Stream.
Construction is underway for OMA’s Simone-Veil Bridge in Bordeaux, with the first elements of the metal framework installed on the right bank of the Garonne river. Spanning 548 metres, the sixth bridge across the Garonne will connect the municipalities Floirac and Bègles and provide the city with a new public space, thus framing the bridge as a contemporary boulevard. Designed as a continuous surface extended to landscaped public spaces on each bank, the 44-metre bridge will accommodate cars, public transport, bicycles, with the largest surface dedicated to pedestrians. When completed, the project will become the first bridge in OMA’s body of work.
On the 24th of February 2022, Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine. Set to become Europe’s largest refugee crisis and armed conflict in this century, so far, this war has mobilized people across the world in order to exert pressure on authorities and put a stop to the armed hostilities. Individuals, as well as institutions in the architectural field, have taken part in these acts of solidarity, issuing statements, condemning actions, and even halting their work in Russia. From the UIA to MVRDV to Russian Institutions such as Strelka, the architecture world is denouncing the acts of violence and supporting an immediate cease of fire.
Amsterdam is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Its origins lie in the 12th century when fishermen living along the banks of the River Amstel built a bridge across the waterway near the IJ, then a large saltwater inlet. Most of the city’s territory is below sea level and therefore it lies on land that has been reclaimed from the water.
Amsterdam is all about practical urban planning, amazing cycling infrastructure, tulip-lined canal bridges, and old merchant houses that tilt at impossible angles. I visited Amsterdam again last year and discovered some new places.
Last year, the Basque Culinary Center announced the creation of the GOe: Gastronomy Open Ecosystem. A project that seeks to generate a gastronomic ecosystem focused on research, innovation and entrepreneurship. It will have its own building in San Sebastian, Spain, becoming the new headquarters complementary to the previous BCC building designed by VAUMM in 2011.
With the aim of selecting the best proposals for the construction of the GOe building, an international architectural competition was launched in December 2021. After receiving and analysing different proposals, five finalists were selected to move on to the next phase of the award process: 3xn (Denmark), BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group (Denmark), OMA - Office of Metropolitan Architecture (Netherlands), Snøhetta (Norway) and Toyo Ito & Associates, Architects (Japan).
Architecture education is not only about learning how to design and construct buildings but it gives a whole new perspective on our built environment and on how design can contribute to create quality spaces and experiences. Moreover, a big percentage of this design thinking can be used by professional architects as a resource to create other spatial configurations that vary from the traditional building, opening up to a diverse world of possibilities in terms of spatiality and materials.
San Riemo Residental Building by ARGE Summacumfemmer Büro Juliane Greb is this year's recipient of the DAM Prize for Architecture, an annual award highlighting outstanding German projects. Selected from 100 buildings nominated by the Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM), the San Riemo Residental Building was commended for an exemplary take on communal living and its spatial flexibility that can accommodate a wide range of dwelling scenarios. The finalist projects include OMA’s Axel Spinger building, Burger Rudacs Architekten’s John Cranko ballet school in Stuttgart and Florian Nagler Architekten’s , Research Buildings Bad Aibling.
Continuing its long-lasting collaboration with Prada, OMA’S research and design branch AMO created a cinematic scenography for the brand’s 2022 Fall Winter Menswear show. Yellow carpeting envelops the hall of Deposito at Fondazione Prada, reimagined as a theatrical setting with olive-green theatre chairs and stage lighting. In juxtaposition, sci-fi looking metal-clad tunnels bathed in neon lights emphasize “the uncanny relationship between the theatrical and technological atmospheres”.
Over the past year, established practices have continued to champion the transformation of existing structures, with adaptive reuse and renovations increasingly becoming a defining aspect of contemporary architecture From the renovation of landmark structures to the adaptive reuse of obsolete facilities, the idea of giving new life to existing buildings has been embraced as the premise for a more sustainable practice, but also as a means of reinforcing the urban and cultural identity of cities. Discover 8 designs and recently completed projects that showcase a new common practice of reusing existing building stock.
As the new year kicks off, we're taking a look ahead to the projects we're most looking forward to in 2022. With a mix of cultural and commercial programs, the designs are located across five continents, with many under construction for multiple years. Designed across a wide range of scales, they represent a mix of interconnected landscapes, museums, and new skyscrapers.
The early stages of practicing architecture are often met with what many explain as "the slippery slope of being an architect", where expectations do not at all meet reality of the profession and gets worse as the experience progresses. With constant burnouts as a result of working overtime and on weekends on the account of “gaining experience”, extraordinary expectations, low wages, and physical and mental strains, the prestige of being an architect has evidently vanished with modern-day work conditions. So how can architects fight for their labor rights after years of exploitation and what is currently being done to ensure them?
OMA / Shohei Shigematsu, together with artists Charlotte Taylor and Nicholas Préaud, created a series of NFTs inspired by an underwater sculpture designed for the ReefLine project. Commissioned by Aorist for its climate-forward NFT marketplace, the video NFT Coral Arena unfolds a virtual narrative of the monument, simulating the evolution of the future physical artwork from an abstract object to being the support of an underwater ecosystem. The NFTs were unveiled during Miami Art Week, and proceeds from their sale will be donated for the completion of the ReefLine project.
By definition, architecture and urban planning operate within a certain degree of indeterminacy, using present context to find viable answers for an unknown future. As a result, design is a constant search for a balance between prescribing and taking a step back to make room for alternate yet unforeseeable scenarios. Uncertainty is an inherent condition in present-day society, and recent rapid social, economic, and even environmental changes prompt a closer look at how architecture can incorporate indeterminacy. The following reviews some precedents and contemporary examples that programmatically operate with indeterminacy, highlighting several strategies for designing for uncertainty and change.
Virgil Abloh, a great American influential figure in the fashion, art, culture, design, and architecture scene, passed away at 41, after a silent battle with cancer. Known for his collaboration with AMO, especially for the Off-White Flagship Store in Miami, a brand he founded back in 2012, the trained architect was the first African-American to become the artistic director of a French luxury brand.
The news was announced on Sunday on Abloh’s official Instagram Account. The Creative Director of Louis Vuitton menswear battled a “rare, aggressive form of cancer, cardiac angiosarcoma […] privately since his diagnosis in 2019”, according to the post.
The first phase of the POST Houston redevelopment project is nearing completion, and the finished areas are now open to the public. Through adaptive reuse and precise interventions, Jason Long and OMA New York have transformed the historic Post Office mail sorting warehouse into a new public destination and cultural venue for Houston, featuring a diverse collection of programs meant to evolve and adapt to the needs of the city.
Singapore has emerged as a global design center. As a city-state and island country in Southeast Asia, the Lion City is home to a new class of high-rise buildings, gardens and iconic landmarks. While the design world is familiar with structures like the Safdie's Jewel Changi Airport or OMA's Interlace, Singapore has also built a range of new public and civic buildings alongside extensive land reclamation projects.
The winning proposal for redesigning Thessaloniki’s ConfEx fairground features a series of pavilions with large overhanging roofs that float within a park, creating the infrastructure for international events while providing locals with a robust public space. Designed by Sauerbruch Hutton, together with Gustafson Porter + Bowman as landscape architects and Elena Stavropoulou, the project builds on the existing network of landmarks creating a new hybrid landscape that caters to the Northern Greek city’s goal of becoming the region’s primary business and tourist attraction.
On August 12, 1833, the Town of Chicago had roughly 200 inhabitants. Four years later, in 1837, it was upgraded to The City of Chicago – an interesting fact given that there are still 19 incorporated towns in Illinois. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 killed 300 people, destroyed about 3.3 square miles (9 km2), and left more than 100,000 residents homeless. However, by that time Chicago had become the world’s fastest-growing city and its population had risen over 300,000 inhabitants. The fire meant these ambitious citizens had to start again.
With admirable strength, the city was reborn from the ashes and some of Chicago’s best architecture was constructed immediately after. Structures like the Rookery Building (1888, Frank Lloyd Wright), the Auditorium Building (1889, Louis Sullivan) and the Monadnock Building (1893, Burnham & Root, Holabird & Roche) are a few examples of the high standards the city was aiming for.
