Courtesy of Chung Whan Park, Terry Park, Jeong Jun Song, Hyuntek Yoon, Kyung Jae Yu
The mission in the proposal, titled ‘The Grand Opening,’ for the Redesigning Detroit: A New Vision for an Iconic Site competition is to create a vision for a 24/7 timeless, vibrant and walk-able urban neighborhood in downtown Detroit with a catalytic impact on the retail activities of Woodward Avenue Corridor. Designed by Chung Whan Park, Terry Park, Jeong Jun Song, Hyuntek Yoon and Kyung Jae Yu, The Grand Opening will connect the different contexts of the existing urban settings and bring every hour of excitement, crowd and memorable identity to the street life of downtown Detroit. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Australia based Williamson Architects’ proposal for the City Cultural Center of Taichung, Taiwan aims to create a sculptural beauty that resurrects the romance of the architectural journey through a building. Driven by function, the building’s form is expressed in its own beauty to create not only a landmark public structure but also creating a catalyst drawing people and activity, beautifully connecting all strata of society. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Courtesy of Georges Batzios + Rena Sakellaridou, and Morpho Papanikolaou (SPARCH)
Georges Batzios Architects + Sparch (Rena Sakellaridou and Morpho Papanikolaou) shared with us their proposal, titled 'Calligraphic-scapes,' for the Taichung City Cultural Center competition which stems from the origins of calligraphy. The rigorous transformation of knowledge, to be found in written language, is brought together with the poetic domains of art by means of calligraphy as the medium. As such, it brings together both the library and art museum into a new hybrid entity. More images and architects' description after the break.
Designed by TheeAe LTD., the main idea for their ‘Wooden Wave’ proposal for the Taichung City Cultural Center competition was driven by its elements in historical buildings which have had its form of curve, wooden structure, prolonged canopies and so on. In respect of the past architecture, they believe change or new is not a sole creation from nothing, but rather evolution from the past. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Designed by Maxthreads Architectural Design & Planning, their vision for the Taichung City Cultural Center is to create an unconventional and exceptional gathering space for visitors and inhabitants, animated by a public program. As the entry sequence into an urban fabric, this proposal reflects the new city’s philosophy of combining nature and innovative technology. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Designed by Kubota & Bachmann Architects, main purpose of their proposal for the Taichung City Cultural Center (TCCC) is the integration of the Gateway Park and the best practice implementation of green architectural policies. Aiming to be the new landmark of Taichung, together with the Gateway Park and the Taiwan Tower, the architectural ambition of the TCCC/Gateway Park is nothing less than creating a world-leading model in sustainable architecture. More images and architects' description after the break.
Just this past Thursday, schmidt hammer lassen architects, East China Architecture and Design Institute, and Shanghai Expo Construction Development Company celebrated the ground breaking for, and start of construction of, the new Green Valley project on the site of the former 2010 Shanghai Expo. Located immediately next to the iconic Chinese pavilion, the architects won the international competition to design this 50,000-square-meter project last year. This project aims to become a new central urban development in Shanghai, integrating new sustainable solutions in both the urban design and the individual buildings on the site. More images and architects' description after the break.
Courtesy of Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios + Grant Associates
Westminster City Council has just announced Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, urban designers and architects and Grant Associates, UK landscape architects, as part of a multidisciplinary team to devise a twenty-year infrastructure and public realm plan for Church Street, London, to support the council’s housing renewal strategy. Residents have just voted in favor of proceeding with the first phase of regeneration plans for Church Street in a ward-wide referendum. More images and architects' description after the break.
Designed by AN.ONYMOUS, their "ex.terra" proposal was chosen as one of the winners in the MOMA PS1 Rockaway competition. Their design proposes the creation of a new ground, which serves as an infrastructural network. The structure, elevated 10-15m meters above the current sea level, connects to the existing subway line, bridges and roads in the rockaway. The geometry of the new structure, as an anamorphic grid, creates a structural system which is able to resist and at the same time capture the energy of the wind and the water. The city is then plugged into this infrastructure with designated blocks for different use. More images and architects' description after the break.
Courtesy of Michela Romano, Emanuela Ortolani, Federica Spinaci, Eleonora Sanfilippo, David Vecchi
Conceived to aid in the cohesion between people, Salotto Urbano is a public area designed by architects Michela Romano, Emanuela Ortolani, Federica Spinaci, Eleonora Sanfilippo, and David Vecchi. The project aims to be a pleasant place to support the social interactions, working as a structure for several activities and events. It is a space where people can freely operate and get back the participation of common good. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Designed by Garrett Rock, the New Acadia, Retrofitting Urban Decay proposal was the winning entry for one of six sites in the [Imagine Downtown] Lafayette Design Competition which aims to be a re-imagination of urban density within the neighborhood’s city core. The design offers Lafayette an alternative mode of development that stimulates street life in hopes of attracting a young, creative class that are leaving the city for more amenity-rich urban enclaves. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Almost demolished after the earthquake in 2011, Christchurch center was required a renovation. The challenge for architects Zotov & Co was to recall a livable city center. After asking the question of what is needed to be happy, the architects chose nature and communication as the foundation of their concept. The center for the quarter an island covered, dense forest which concentrates all social activity. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The Marie-José Van Hee + Robbrecht & Daem designed Market Hall in Ghent reinstates the presence of old urban areas that had become unrecognizable. As an urban interior, the inside embraces the passer-by with a dual modulated wooden ceiling, whose small windows scatter light inwards. The exterior, the entire building in fact, seems to assume a respectful role relative to the nobler historic stone buildings. We have previously brought you images of the project, but these latest images by Hufton + Crow truly capture the experience and highlight the project's materials and principles. A complete gallery of their photos can be viewed after the break.
MVRDV and Space Group are one of three teams who have been asked to submit a masterplan proposal for the Norwegian town of Madla-Revheim, the main development area outside of Stavanger. The aim of this commission is to develop a model of sustainable growth that treats development principles, transportation systems and built structures as parts of a whole. In this proposal, MVRDV and Space Group propose to concentrate 4,000 housing units on the edge of the 780 acre site, preserving the heart of the development for open, green space, public programs and sports facilities.
Housing Corporation VANKE recently asked NL Architects to make a proposal for a Super Market as part of a big resort in Sanya, the southernmost city in China. Renowned for its tropical climate and for being a popular tourist destination, the site of the resort will consist of three clusters of large residential slabs of 21 stories high enveloping semi enclosed gardens. The public space plays a crucial role in the atmosphere of the area as a whole so a lot of consideration is going into creating a pleasant environment. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Stretching beyond the natural constraints of Presqu’ile de Caen and into the neighboring towns of Mondeville and Hérouville Saint Clair, MVRDV’s competition-winning vision will transform 600ha of industrial brown fields into a collection of gardens punctuated by a mosaic of urban settlements. This ambition, titled ‘La Grande Mosaique’, is strongly based on respect for the existing structures and defined by small scale interventions that will result in a large scale structure vision for Greater Caen.
The proposal was selected from three submittals by the public development agency SPLA for being, as Caen Mayor Philippe Duron describes, the “most impressive plan”. It was commended by the jury for its “fresh view” on urbanism.
