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Construction has begun on MVRDV’s project for the Pyramid of Tirana in Albania, as of February 4th, 2021. Rehabilitating what was once a communist monument, the proposal transforms the brutalist structure into a new hub for Tirana's cultural life. Preserving the concrete shell, the intervention will open the atrium and the surroundings, while a small village of cafes, studios, workshops, and classrooms will permeate the site.
In the dense urban fabric of India’s Mumbai, Studio Symbiosis upgraded the ID Origins Headquarters into a new visual marker of the city, using organic strokes to merge old and new into one revitalized project. The HQ has been under construction since October 2019 and is a historic landmark for the company, as it was where the owners first initiated their business in the 1980s. The 18,750 sqm project was awarded the WA World Architecture Community Awards for its unique design approach.
3XN and IttenBrechbühl have been selected to design Tilia Tower, an 85-meter-tall mixed-use wooden building that includes apartments, retail, and a hotel. Located in Lausanne, Switzerland, the project also encompasses the transformation and renovation of two existing buildings, as well as the implementation of new public spaces, bringing vitality to the neighborhood.
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Almost 6 months ago, on August 4th, 2020, the city of Beirut was shaken by one of the biggest non-nuclear blasts in history. Leaving the northern side of the capital in ruins, the explosion damaged around 40,000 buildings. New contemporary structures completed recently by local international architects are now facing reconstruction dilemmas, raising existential questions such as: How should reconstruction efforts of “new” damaged buildings look like? Should architects rebuild them as they were before the blast, erasing what has happened or should they leave scars and portray new realities?
In order to explore ideas and highlight different perspectives, ArchDaily had the chance to sit with three architects whose buildings were impacted by the blast. Bernard Khoury, Paul Kaloustian, and Lina Ghotmeh talked about their projects and their vision of the reconstruction of Beirut with ArchDaily's Managing Editor, Christele Harrouk, alongside Architectural Photographer Laurian Ghinitoiu, who documented in a featured photo series the extent of the destruction.
Transforming the typical artistic experience, Snøhetta proposed a design to renovate the Blanton Museum of Art at The University of Texas at Austin. The comprehensive grounds remodeling seeks to “unify and revitalize the museum campus, […] through architectural and landscape improvements”. Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2021 and conclude by late 2022.
Renovation works of Mies van der Rohe’s Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin are in their final phase. Overseen by David Chipperfield Architects, the restoration was much needed after almost 40 years. Set to reopen in the summer of 2021, the concrete, steel, and glass landmark, dedicated to culture and the fine arts, is in fact Mies van der Rohe’s only work in Germany after World War II.
Kjellander Sjoberg has revealed plans to transform the historical building Gjuteriet into an innovative, open public meeting place. Located in the Varvstaden district, a new sustainable neighborhood in Malmö, Sweden, the project will become a contemporary and versatile work environment. Fitting 300 workspaces across 4,600 sq. m., the building also includes meeting rooms, open lounges, conference rooms, a conservatory, studios, exhibition spaces, a test kitchen, and wellness facilities.
Snøhetta has revealed its first built project in Hong Kong, Airside, a 176,000 square meters mixed-use building. Located in the center of the former Kai Tak airport, the project commissioned by Nan Fung Group comprises a 200-meter tower merged seamlessly with its base.
Barozzi Veiga, in collaboration with Tab Architects and Barbara Van Der Wee Architects, has just won the competition for the renovation of the Jewish Museum of Belgium. Discrete yet present and integrated into the urban fabric, as the jury stated, the proposal was selected from five shortlisted established and young architectural practices.
Remnants of the Socialist era, the large-scale architecture and urban spaces of the Eastern European Bloc still constitute a challenging legacy, at odds with contemporary urban environments and the values shaping cities today. This ideologically charged architecture is being reclaimed either through the reconciliation of the public opinion with this part of history, adaptive re-use, renovation, or through its re-contextualization as architectural heritage. By (re)introducing the human scale within these monumental architecture projects and public spaces, these entities are being restored to the urban and cultural life of cities.
Gensler has unveiled 545wyn, “the first Class-A office tower in Miami in over a decade”. In collaboration with office developer Sterling Bay and local development partner Joe Furst of Place Projects, the project introduces a new generation of office space, aiming to attract a new type of innovative, forward-focused tenants. In fact, Gensler Miami will be the building’s first tenant of the 10-story tower.
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MVRDV has just unveiled the If Factory, a disused urban structure converted into a new 11.000 m2 creative building, containing a mixture of offices for the Urban Research Institute of China Vanke and offices for rent. Located in one of Shenzhen’s most historic districts, Nantou, the project is the largest proposed renovation in the city to date.
When reflecting on recycling, sustainability, measures to take, and innovative technological solutions, one cannot help but think that there are also familiar approaches that should be taken into consideration. In fact, when examining the impact of the built environment on the climate, one notes that in many countries, 80% of the buildings that will exist in 2050 have already been built. The most effective form of sustainability may, therefore, be saving energy by eliminating or minimizing new constructions, and by avoiding the demolition of existing structures.
That is what adaptive reuse stands for: instilling a new purpose on an existing “leftover building.” Nowadays, the refashioning process is becoming essential because of numerous issues related to the climate emergency, plot and construction costs, a saturation of land, and a change in living trends.
Stefano Boeri Architetti has won the international competition for the construction of the largest and most innovative Rehabilitation Centre in Shenzhen, China. With his Chinese office, SBA was selected by a jury composed of local and international figures such as Peter Cook and Sou Fujimoto. Planned to be built in the next three years, the project will put in place “a set of green terraces and overlapping spaces in a sustainable system combining nature, architecture and biodiversity and including internal gardens dedicated to rehabilitation”.
Presented part of international competitions, this week’s best-unbuilt architecture gathers award-winning projects submitted by our readers. Highlighting as usual diverse approaches from across the globe, ArchDaily is rounding up in this article, a curated selection of cultural, civic, and urban proposals.
In Singapore, an adaptive reuse project transforms a power station into a creative industrial hub, while in Indonesia, a smart city design for the new capital generates an ecologically responsible environment. Moreover, Kjellander Sjöberg designs and develops an original city block in Stockholm, and TheeAe imagines a city hall for China. Other proposals include an entire reflective surface for a public square in Italy, a new city district in Tampere Finland, a University building in Warsaw, and a school for contemporary art in Vienna.
Last year’s granting of the Mies van der Rohe Award to a social housing refurbishment project brought into the spotlight a topic of interest for many European cities: the moral and physical rehabilitation of post-war housing blocks.
Schauman & Nordgren Architects, a Copenhagen and Helsinki based architecture and urban planning studio, was selected as the winner of the two-stage competition, organized by the city of Turku in Finland, to transform a former elderly home site into a new 15.000 m2 housing neighborhood.
.jpg?1613644756 "Courtesy of MVRDV")
.jpg?1613644713 "Courtesy of MVRDV")
.jpg?1611093772 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu")
.jpg?1611093604 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu")
.jpg?1611093961 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu")
.jpg?1611093888 "© Laurian Ghinitoiu")
_Gent_Onuzi.jpg?1603920105 "The Pyramid in Tirana. Image © Gent Onuzi")
.jpg?1597742097 "Courtesy of MVRDV")
.jpg?1597741926 "Courtesy of MVRDV")
.jpg?1597742150 "Courtesy of MVRDV")
