MAD Architects has broken ground on the firm's first cultural project in Europe, the FENIX Museum of Migration in Rotterdam. Commissioned by the Droom en Daad Foundation, the project builds on the history of the Fenix warehouse, once the largest warehouse in the world. MAD’s renovation of the warehouse aims to connect the history of Rotterdam with the city's present culture.
Cascade Cafesjian Museum Extension and Concert Hall. Image Courtesy of TarberAK Architectural Studio
Focusing on diversity, this curated selection of the Best Unbuilt Architecture showcases a multitude of functions. Submitted by our readers, the projects vary in scale, program, design, and representation. Coming from all over the world, many of these interventions are in progress, while others are still in conceptual phases.
Introducing innovative and out of the box ideas, this roundup includes a floating farm in the Netherlands, natural swimming pools in South Korea, a resort in Hungary, and a cascading museum extension in Armenia. Even more common functions such as a hotel in Vietnam, an infinity loop library in China, a mixed-use building in Iran, headquarters for Yandex in Russia, and a campus in Germany, present inventive approaches and intriguing imageries.
In all cities around the world, there are some forms of residual space, forgotten pieces of the urban fabric, remnants of overlapping layers of past development. This land whose conditions make it unsuitable for most types of conventional construction might be a fertile ground for architectural invention. Assigning a new value to vacant corner lots, dead-end alleys and strangely shaped plots opens up a new field of opportunities for inward urban development, expanding available living space and increasing amenities in densely populated cities. The following explores the potential for experiment and urban activation held by urban leftover space.
OMA and LOLA Landscape Architects have revealed their design development for the New Feyenoord Stadium, in Rotterdam. Part of the Feyenoord City master plan, the scheme “has been optimized to ensure on-time and cost-effective delivery, while reinforcing its integrity as a vital iconic building”.
The public art depot for the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, designed by MVRDV is nearing completion in Rotterdam. Scheduled for opening in September 2021, recent images showcase the installation of the first of 75 trees on the roof garden.