Designed by MAD Architects, the FENIX Museum of Migration is set to be inaugurated in 2025 in Rotterdam’s City Harbor. The purpose of the institution is to showcase and highlight the stories of global migration through encounters with art, architecture, photography, and history. The museum broke ground in 2020 when the first images of the proposal were also released. MAD Architects is working with Bureau Polderman for the restoration of the historic warehouse dating back to 1932, which now represents the base and starting point for the museum experience.
The design by heneghan peng architects, Dublin, with Ralph Appelbaum Associates, Berlin, was awarded 1st prize in the international competition for the replanning and expansion of the Old Tower of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. The competition’s purpose was to redesign the original West Tower, which was partially destroyed during a bombing by the Allied Forces in 1943, and return it to the tourist circuit as a war memorial and exhibition space.
MAD Architects has unveiled the project for the renovation of the "Wanmicang" warehouse on the southside of the Shanghai Zhangjiang CementFactory. The building is set to be transformed into a multifunctional public waterfront space for culture, creativity, and commerce. The project maintains the character of the former industrial site but introduces a new addition in the form of an ark-like metal 'floating' volume, creating a stark contrast between the old and new structures. The project is scheduled for completion by 2026.
Henning Larsen has revealed the design proposal for Bolzano’s Industrial Zone. The concept revitalizes and reconnects part of the city through prioritizing adaptive reuse, urban mining, and timber construction. The proposed design will transform the post-industrial area into “Pone Roma Quartier,” an inviting, multigenerational, mixed-use neighborhood with a solution to the city’s pressing housing crisis.
When you’ve made a mess, it’s often easier to hold up your hands and start again from scratch. But while it might be a harder way to do it, adaptive reuse – when architecture takes something old and broken and brings it back to life – can have benefits all around.
When planning much-needed social and cultural buildings for public use, instead of using new, virgin materials (or even recycled materials that need to be collected, stripped, reformatted, and transported), there are plenty of pre-made sites already in place. All we have to do is see them.
These adaptive reuse projects take disused buildings, forgotten projects, and unloved environments and transform them into something new, bringing life, positivity, and purpose.
What does architectural restoration, transformation, or renovation entail? What factors are involved in their processes? When delving into the interiors of Spanish homes, we set out to discover the various methodologies, tools, and technical and construction strategies that are often employed, with stone as the main protagonist.
When Kisho Kurokawa designed his now iconic Nakagin Capsule Tower in 1972, the structure was meant to represent the core principles of Metabolism, experimenting with ideas of growth and change borrowed from biological processes. The emerging style in postwar Japan aimed to create buildings and megastructures that emulate living organisms that can evolve, expand, contract, and adapt to their changing conditions. Following this concept, the Nakagin tower was composed of 140 identical cell-like capsule units, each individually bolted to the two central shafts. The capsules were intended to be replaced and upgraded every 25 years, allowing for flexibility and mutation. The innovation proved to be impractical, however. Almost 50 years after its construction, the tower was demolished, but not in its entirety. A total of 23 capsules were saved and removed from the building to be given a new life. Now, the capsules are scattered around the world, continuing to represent Metabolist ideals in unexpected ways.
Scaffolding continues to surround the cathedral on March 24, 2023.. Image via Shutterstock | O.Kemppainen
On April 15, 2019, a devastating fire occurred at the infamous Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. The fire caused significant damage to the historic structure, which is a landmark in the city and a symbol of French Gothic architecture. The cathedral has been undergoing restoration works and is on course to reopen to the public in 2024. Throughout the process of restoration, its interior cleaning methodologies were debated, its carpentry was entirely replaced by medieval-skilled timber craftsmen, and the completion date for the cathedral is still on track for December 2024.
In an age where humanity's detrimental impact on the environment has become increasingly evident, the concept of rewilding is emerging as a powerful approach to conservation and ecological restoration. In line with growing attention on landscape architecture in recent years, the idea of removing human intervention from our natural surroundings in order to restore a stable equilibrium seems to offer a low-effort, ethereal way to right fundamental climate wrongs. But is a lack of meddling in nature really all there is to rewilding, and how does this relate to architecture and design? We look at key concepts, applications, and examples to find out.
Switzerland-based office Oppenheim Architecture has been announced as the winner of a two-phase competition for the redesign and restoration of the Besa Museum in Tirana, Albania. The institution is dedicated to showcasing the Albanian code of honor represented through the name “Besa,” a concept that dictates welcoming any guests as one’s own. The museum is conceived as a continuation of the Jewish Museum on Vlora, diving deeper into the principle of Besa and its role in the help given to the Jews in Albania during the Holocaust.
The former animal laboratories of the Charité in Lichterfelde, also known as the Mäusebunker building, have now been placed under monument protection, saving it from the threat of demolition that has been slated since 2010. The brutalist structure was designed by architects Gerd and Magdalena Hänska and built from 1971, and put into operation in 1982. While its strong image, combined with its function as a laboratory for animal tests, resulted in the general public’s distaste for it, the Brutalist building slowly gained acceptance and even a cult status among brutalist fans.
Oulu City Council has approved the AALTOSIILO restoration proposal by Skene Catling de la Peña. The concrete structure will be restored and reimagined as a multi-media performance, exhibition space, and “Tar Bar.” The 525 sqm Silo used to be used for storing woodchips and will now become a digitized communication point to connect the building with its surroundings. Now nearing its 100th anniversary, the proposal aims to at least double its lifespan.
The Chilean architectural practice UMWELT, together with the landscape architecture office LANDMRX and the renowned Mexican firm PRODUCTORA, have won first place in the competition for the transformation of the former Correos de Chile (Chilean Postal Service) building located in Estación Central, Santiago. In 2021, EFE (Chile's State Railway Company) acquired the property to convert it into their new corporate headquarters, where the company's employees will work in interaction with the nearby railway operations.
Rendering depicts a ground-level view of the planned new Doris Duke Theatre, viewed from a perspective right outside the Perles Family Studio. The new building will feature two lobbies with sliding doors, which will create multiple entrances and exits to the building. The lobby on the west side of the new Duke is visible in this image. Image Courtesy of Mecanoo Architects and Marvel
Jacob's Pillow has revealed its plans for the redesigned Doris Duke Theater, which will be built on the original site of the theater that was destroyed by a fire in November 2020. Mecanoo, based in the Netherlands and led by Creative Director and Founding Partner Francine Houben, has taken on the role of lead architect for the new building project, collaborating with Marvel, based in New York and led by Jonathan Marvel, who serves as the project's architect of record and landscape architects.
Henning Larsen has been selected as the winner of an international competition for the design of Kurfürstendamm 231, a new mixed-use urban development in western Berlin, Germany. Other finalists in the competition included Cobe, David Chipperfield, and Mäckler Architekten. The winning concept centers the neighborhood around an urban courtyard which acts as a large-scale meeting place for the local community. Nine buildings define the courtyard, including the existing Agrippina House, which is set to be rehabilitated through the project.
Enhancing the energy performance of existing buildings through refurbishment processes provides the opportunity to create more comfortable and sustainable environments, while also improving their functionality, aesthetics, and safety. Architectural approaches to these renovations encompass various aspects of a building, including interior spaces, structure, internal systems, and facades.
When it comes to rethinking a building's envelope, STACBOND’s composite panel solutions delve into the development of ventilated facades. These facade systems serve as an architectural strategy for energy-efficient building renovations. Minimizing energy consumption for heating and cooling, the rehabilitation strategy incorporates thermal insulation, moisture management, and thermal mass optimization.
Architecture is a continually evolving form of human expression influenced by cultural and contextual factors. While many of the problems we face today aren't directly linked to architecture, it has the ability to provide or facilitate solutions to these challenges. This has been evident throughout history, as societal issues have played a significant role in shaping our built environments. For instance, during the Victorian era, the infamous "Great Stink" led to the modernization of London's drainage system and urban layout. Similarly, the 2008 recession gave rise to the sharing economy and coworking spaces. Nowadays, the climate crisis is transforming the way we conceive architecture, seeking to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings and cities to achieve the Paris Agreement objectives. Given this backdrop, what challenges should we expect in the future?
https://www.archdaily.com/1000810/energetic-retrofitting-a-solution-for-environmental-obsolescence-in-architectureEnrique Tovar
Some would say it's the fresh air, peace and quiet, and some the constant closeness to nature; nonetheless, we all agree there’s something unique about the countryside. As you step inside a farmhouse, all of these qualities can be reflected through the lense of contemporary interior design, creating a welcoming, light and calm ambiance. Known for their place in rural or agricultural settings and designed for farm living, traditional 1700’s farm houses –also known as “folk” houses– were initially influenced by their geographical conditions, enhancing the relationship with the environment. While conserving traditional approaches such as simple floor-plans, gabled roofs and large porches, farmhouse aesthetics have gone through transformations to adapt to contemporary ways of living. By reusing and using traditional rural architecture as a direct reference, we analyze how current projects follow its singular design strategies: noble materials, spaces connected to the environment, and simple and functional spaces with unique details.
