A series of concave concrete panels hoisted on slender plank-like columns sit amongst the vast rural plains of Sweden, silently redefining the typology of an otherwise utilitarian structure. White Arkitekter's recent proposal for a water tower in Varberg is a slim horizontal structure, deviating from the typical, vertical and round design. Titled VÅGA, it features two tanks for storing water within its unique shape that may actually be better suited to its purpose.
The 'Long Lodge' proposal for residential cabins along the Appalachian Trail, recently named the Honor Award Winner of the 2018 Maine Mass Timber Design Competition, highlights simple yet creative ways to spotlight the possibilities and natural beauty of timber as a construction material. The winning four-person design team created a lodge that not only serves as a temporary living space but rather becomes a memorable spatial experience through the effects of the structural design choices.
With the aim to create the self-proclaimed “Central Park of Lakeland,” global design firm Sasaki is converting Bonnet Springs Park in Central Florida from a former CSX railyards property to an ecological hub. Initially, a vacant brownfield, the site is currently undergoing environmental remediation to tackle the years of industrial damage, with plans to be open to the public by 2020.
In the age of skyscrapers, the immediate solution to housing is to build up and duplicate single units in the plan. In contrast, the Zafereniah Tower designed by Challenge Studio, project laureate of the recent 2018 Architizer A+ Award, proposed a conceptual endeavor as a prototype for mid-rise, multi-unit housing.
The Tehran-based firm won both the Jury and Popular Choice Awards for their response to the prompt for a design that "champion[s] its potential for a positive impact on everyday life."
Soon to become the tallest building in Quito, IQON is Bjarke Ingels Group's first project to be built in South America. Currently undergoing construction, the largely residential building is a curved tower with gradually protruding balconies. Encased between the dense city and the park, the self-dubbed "urban tree farm" aims not only to encompass the surrounding views of the volcanoes and nature beyond but also to integrate the landscape within the building itself.
Vincent Callebaut Architectures has released details of their competition-winning “Metamorphosis of the Hotel Des Postes” in Luxembourg City. The Paris-based firm’s proposition centers on propelling the historic site into a contemporary era, and to “reveal the intrinsic heritage qualities of the building.”
The scheme, which centers on the historic stone and concrete Hotel Des Postes designed by State Architect Sosthène Weis between 1905 and 1910, will be transformed by the addition of a domed “chrysalis” volume in the heart of the building’s courtyard.
Zaha Hadid Architects has won an international competition for the design of the new Sverdlovsk Philharmonic Concert Hall in Yekaterinburg, Russia. A melting pot of Eastern and Western cultures, talents, and industries, the strategic Ural city hosts a Philharmonic Orchestra which has performed in more than 20 countries, while based in the existing 1936 Sverdlovsk Philharmonic building.
For the design of the Ural Philharmonic Orchestra’s new home, Zaha Hadid Architects “echoed the physical aspects of sound waves” to create an inspirational venue meeting the orchestra’s growing program, and to create a new public plaza for all citizens.
Oppenheim Architecture has released an update of their proposed Star Metals development in Atlanta, Georgia. Spread over two schemes, the project seeks to “shift the paradigm of what’s possible for new urban environments” through a 1.36 million-square-foot masterplan.
The Oppenheim scheme consists of a 14-story “Star Metals Offices” building, accommodating offices, terraces, parking, and retail, and a nine-story “Star Metals Residences” building with over 400 residential units.
OOPEAA, working in collaboration with Lundén Architecture Company, has won a design and build competition for a timber housing development in Kivistö, Vantaa in the Helsinki metropolitan area of Finland. Organized by the City of Vantaa, the competition asked entrants to design a district of wooden housing, part of a commitment “to provide climate-conscious development in housing.”
Titled “Upstairs – Downstairs, Living Together on Three Levels,” the OOPEAA and Lundén scheme will form part of the broader sustainable district, creating a link between natural forest, active streets, and railway infrastructure.
A consortium comprising Progress, Miralles Tagliabue EMBT and Cushman & Wakefield recently reached the final stage of a design competition to create a tourist center in Russia in part of the embankment named after Admiral Serebryakov in the city of Novorossiysk. The proposal provides the required hospitality spaces but also features unique facilities, such as a wine museum, a fish market and an "artificial island", all serving as new centers of attraction for residents and visitors of the city. The foundation of the design concept is based on three components: "the idea of a natural city, the unification of the three forces of nature and the characteristic appearance of Novorossiysk as a port city."
David Chipperfield Architects have released new details of their proposed IMPACT Centre in Edinburgh, Scotland. Addressing the need for a purpose-built, medium-sized performance venue in a city of profound cultural heritage, the scheme will serve as a base for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra with a main, 1000-seat auditorium.
Situated in Edinburgh’s UNESCO World Heritage Site, the scheme will replace an existing office building to become the first dedicated new space for music and performing arts in the city in 100 years. The scheme seeks to “form an urban composition centered around Dundas House,” a 1771 Grade-A listed civic building whose rear façade abuts the proposed scheme.
Punctuated by four towers of varying size, Aedas’ new design for a mixed-use scheme in Zhuhai, China, uses a looping, layered path to connect the individual structures with a ‘three-dimensional, vertical landscape’. Hoping to become the centerpiece of the city, the Hengqin CRCC Plaza uses strategic positioning and form to both maximize economic output and create a strong community core, where generous open space serves the surrounding workspaces.
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Powerhouse Company and Benthem Crouwel Architects have revealed their vision for the 2022 Asian Games Athlete Village International Zone in Hangzhou, China. The “Sponge City” proposal explores the sandy connection between land and water on a site which has recently been reclaimed from the sea.
The scheme, designed in collaboration with landscape architects SMARTLAND and Chinese firm UAD, forms a competition entry for the design of the village, the results of which are expected in August/September 2018. The team is one of six competing, including AS+P, SO-IL, NEXT Architects, Jadric Architektur, and Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects.
A project in the works from Thai architecture firm Integrated Field (IF) will trumpet the virtues of closed-cycle organic farming to the public. The so-called Cuchi Organic Farming Masterplan involves the reuse of a decommissioned rubber plantation in Cuchi, Vietnam as an “organic food production farm” with “animal feed, livestock, fruit, and vegetation in the closed-cycle operation.”
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KILD has been announced as the first place winner for a design competition in Kaunas, Lithuania’s second largest city. The competition sought for innovative and eco-friendly proposals for a pedestrian and cycle bridge that would connect the downtown area to Science Island.
Zaha Hadid Architects have released images of their proposed redevelopment of the historic Mercury House, situated in the tourism and entertainment center of Paceville on Malta’s east coast. An extensive renovation to the existing structure will see the integration of residential apartments, a boutique hotel, and a range of public spaces and amenities.
The boldest addition to the derelict heritage site will be a 31-story tower, rotating as it rises in response to different functional programs. The resulting form seeks to instill “a sense of dynamism within its silhouette that changes when viewed from different directions around Paceville."
There has been a lot of focus recently on community engagement in architecture. Some building by some architect is designed to be the next 'community hub,' but what does it take to deliver on the design intent?
In order to promote a community atmosphere, a design must engage a large and variable audience, while also offering something unique. This new design from AIX Arkitekter intends to create a new multicultural center called "The "Meeting Point" in Täby, Sweden. The center combines unique sports and cultural activities, at the heart of an existing ecological infrastructure, to promote community opportunities and engagement.
"The Meeting Point" center utilizes both indoor and outdoor activities. This dynamic also translates throughout the design language of the building through transparency and landscape elements. The intersecting masses cause various activity spaces to overlap, promoting happenstance interactions between both people and program.
A beautifully delicate design by ingenhoven architects, in cooperation with architectus, has bested series of internationally acclaimed architects to design Sydney’s tallest residential tower at 505-523 George Street. The 79-storey skyscraper will reach 270m, and include several uses, ranging from high-quality living and retail to hotel and leisure. The designers hope the tower will be “a profoundly visible landmark standing for an economical, environmental and socially sustainable, future-oriented development”.
Los Angeles-based studio EC3 has revealed its design entry for a new 14.5-acre, cultural & sports center in Shenzhen’s growing Dalang neighborhood, hosted by the Shenzhen Longhua District Government and the Vanke Real Estate Co.
GroupGSA's design for the Four Seasons Reception Center in Chongli, Zhanjiakou, China, where the 2022 Winter Olympics will be hosted, has been announced as the winning bid. The building will be used as the main information center for all of the activities that will occur at the ski resort during the Olympic Games.
Australia-based GroupGSA’s recent design for iCarbonX’s Super Headquarters in Shenzhen, China has been dubbed “outstanding” by the competition’s jurors. The firm was invited to submit an entry which explored iCarbonX’s goal to “build an ecosystem of digital life based on a combination of an individual’s biological, behavioral and psychological data, the Internet, and artificial intelligence.”
In the world of politics, the notion of “transparency” refers to the honesty constituents expect of their elected officials. In architecture, it means something much more literal: a transparent surface, like a window or glass wall, is one you can see through. In the small Dutch municipality of Albrandswaard, architects Gortemaker Algra Feenstra have melded the two definitions with a circular, glass town hall. As the firm writes of the project, “a single transparent space...shows the process of democracy as soon as you enter.”
New renders have been released of Henning Larsen’s “luxurious hideaway in the Georgian mountains” after construction started on the 25000m², 135 room hotel earlier this year. The new Agobili Hotel is located at the Abastumani spa resort in Georgia, which itself has been a health retreat for both the Tsar family and general public alike. The new building hopes “to create a story about the magnificent place it inhabits.”
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.jpg?1534950417 "© Powerhouse Company, SMARTLAND and 3D Studio Prins.")
.jpg?1534950428 "© Powerhouse Company, SMARTLAND and 3D Studio Prins.")
.jpg?1534950443 "© Powerhouse Company, SMARTLAND and 3D Studio Prins.")
.jpg?1534950402 "© Powerhouse Company, SMARTLAND and 3D Studio Prins.")
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