Located in Valdespartera Ecocity, a newly built neighborhood located in the residential expansion south of Zaragoza, the design for the Kindergarten by Magen Arquitectos is characterized by its strong expression of horizontality. The definition of the platform floor and the importance and extent of the roof form a broad continuous porch into the yard, supported structurally in tension with cantilevered decks at the top.When projected to the outside by the porch continuum becomes more intense the horizontal relationship with the outside center. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Already built in the Center for Contemporary Art, based in the old Turkish bathhouse in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, the |CON|Temporary Library Installation by Studio 8 ½ contains solely books of contemporary art. It provides many comfortable places to sit/lay, bookcases, magazines and newspapers’ shelves, as well as a computer with very rich and detailed multimedia and video archive of contemporary artists.Built using wood, the entire installation is created with a tremendous respect for its surrounding area, since without it, this effect would not be as strong. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The aim for the design of the Varaždin University Student’s Restaurant and Home was to connect the new building with the old student’s home with the restaurant treated as a separate pavilion. This first prize winning design by SANGRAD Architects + AVP Arhitekti creates a new square between both buildings, which is defined by the main entrance to the existing building and the new restaurant volume. Along with the student’s home on the west side, the restaurant has a visual connection with all three buildings through an access plaza, while the student’s home towards the east continues the structure of the existing house forming a block. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The Battery Conservancy Americas Design Competition 2012: Draw Up A Chair, which we published a couple months ago here, has received an impressive number of registrations to-date and continue to receive wonderful design submissions. Due to the impact of SuperStorm Sandy on many of their registered and would-be participants, they recently announced that they have extended the competition submission deadline to Monday, November 19. For more information, please visit here.
Rakennustieto is publishing now for the seventh time a monograph on the work of the architect awarded the international Spirit of Nature Wood Architecture Award. The 2012 winner is Indian architect Bijoy Jain, who together with his office Studio Mumbai Architects combine excellently traditional craftwork and architecture using meagre resources.
Erik Giudice Architects were recently announced as the H+ Bredgatan Winner of the WAN Awards 2012 Urban Regeneration for their innovative solution in Helsingborg, Sweden. The ‘social atmosphere and ability to encourage residents’ integration reconnects the city with a central spine around a canal theme, creating a number of public spaces that are servicing the scheme but also connecting with the key movement around the site,’ according to WAN jury members. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The design proposal for the Daegu Gosan Public Library aim towards becoming a knowledge based city by putting a strong emphasis on the multiple roles of a library as a knowledge based center accessible to all. Designed by wHY Architecture & Design, their project is based on the concept and form of an opened book. The library unfolds to the public green space, engages the landscape into a continuous surface, and invites people to activate and share the space to facilitate knowledge. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Greenbuild, the world’s largest conference and expo dedicated to green building has commenced in San Francisco with an interesting announcement from the main stage. Google has granted $3 million to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in an effort to transform the building materials industry and accelerate the creation of healthier indoor environments.
“Healthy, non-toxic building materials are a critical component in green building,” said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council. “Fostering awareness of the materials we put into our buildings is of paramount importance, since many materials can link to a host of environmental and health issues. Working with Google enables us to broaden our efforts in the materials industry as we prepare for the next version of the LEED green building program, LEED v4. This updated rating system will paint a more complete picture of materials and products, enabling project teams to make more informed decisions.”
Biology student turn architect, Doris Kim Sung has dedicated her studies to the infinite possibilities of thermobimetals, smart materials that respond dynamically to temperature change. As tested with DO|SU Studio Architecture’s recent installation “Bloom”, whose surface is completely fabricated with thermobimetal, these smart materials are capable of relieving our dependence on energy-inefficient mechanical systems with their self-shading and self-ventilating properties.
Imagine a building skin capable of maintaining thermal comfort in an environmentally responsible and cost effective way by responsively mimicking the characteristics of human skin.
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, as communities band together to clean up the devastation and utility companies work tirelessly to restore the infrastructure that keeps New York City running, planners and policy makers are debating the next steps to making the city as resilient to natural disaster as we once thought it was. We have at our hands a range of options to debate and design and the political leverage to make some of these solutions a reality. The question now is, which option or combination of options is most suitable for protecting New York City and its boroughs? Follow us after the break for more.
Designed for the Land Art Generator Initiative competition, the ‘NAWT Balloons’ concept, which was recently shortlisted in the competition, aims to couple the image of an oversized helium-filled teardrop with a nuanced application of wind energy technology. While the balloon’s image and subsequent geometry are the primitives to the proposal, the deployment on the Fresh Kills site ignites an interest in the oversized and the attenuated. Designed by Norman Kelley, through its multiplication and reconfiguration, this design may be able to produce new, yet familiar, collections of iconicity. More images and architects’ description after the break.
This proposal for the Daegu Gosan Public Library by Martin Fenlon Architecture aims to be an efficient, sustainable, yet bold response to the program which is articulated in a form that is shaped by the space it sits within. The designs focuses on being both a resource of accumulated information and a public space to be enjoyed by the local residents. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Designed by A4 Studio, their design proposal for the new facade for the Budapest Vasas Sports club, one of the oldest and most successful sports associations in Hungary, won the realistic dream project award in the Trimo Architectural Awards competition. The novelty of the planned façade is the plasticity of the manner in which the sports figures are represented. The basic system: the embossed ArtMe TRIMO laminated panel. Its outer appearance incorporates one single simulated gold metal surface (with varying hues of gold), a reference to the previous sports successes of the club. More images and architects’ description after the break.
One October morning in 2003, Lebbeus Woods shattered the sleepy air in Los Angeles with a swift and decisive re-deployment of his famed Foundation Cartier installation, The Fall. 1,400 steel rods were drilled into the polished concrete floors running SCI-Arc’s quarter mile. In a single night of cloaked activity, Woods and a gang of student volunteers made Maya, Rhino and all computer pyrotechnics, then all the rage, seem irrelevant with a forest of bent steel rods that seemed to react to the forces of the building…and seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
Designed by Paolo Venturella & MenoMenoPiu Architects, their ‘Solar Loop’ finalist entry for the Land Art Generator Initiative competition aims to expose more surface as possible to the southern solar rays. Sited in FreshKills Park in New York City, the shape comes directly from the solar diagrams, and deals easily with the sun following it with the best angle almost like a frozen artificial sunflower.bThe aesthetic of the sculpture is the result of this dialogue that becomes synthesis between the solar power and the park. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Don’t believe the rumors! Despite Oscar Niemeyer’s age and three recent hospitalizations, the legendary Brazilian architect is in full recovery after being admitted to the Samaritan Hospital in Rio de Janeiro for dehydration and renal complications last week.
The Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) has announced Skidmore Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) Urban Design and Planning Partner Philip J. Enquist, FAIA, as the recipient of the inaugural SAH Award for Excellence in Design, Planning and Sustainability. The recognition honors Enquist’s leadership on the Vision for the Great Lakes & St. Lawrence River Region, a pro-bono initiative that sets forth a 100-year vision for the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River watershed. The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Basin is one of 263 watersheds that spans national boundaries and Enquist believes that planning must address the basin comprehensively.
“It’s humbling that the SAH is honoring us for this future-oriented project,” Enquist says. “We have a responsibility to be stewards of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River basin, which represents 20 percent of the planet’s fresh surface water. We must design our cities and region to eliminate waste, relying on innovative and sustainable strategies. We can and must ensure fresh water for all future generations.”
French practice bureau faceB has redefined the pedestrian bridge with their winning design concept that allows Paris residents to “flirt with the water” as they traverse across an intentionally unstable bridge. Dubbed “Water at-traction”, the atypical bridge embraces the potential of traction as it’s steel cables stretch across the Seine in Paris and reconnects the city to the water.
Stanley Kubrick is one of those contemporary filmmakers who needs little introduction. For this week’s edition of Films & Architecture, we’re taking a look at The Shining, considered by many to be a masterpiece – not just for its story, but also for the way Kubrick uses space to instill a sense of madness.
Many of you have probably already seen it, but if not, now’s the time to enjoy this classic of suspense. And let us know your thoughts about the relationship between space and horror in the comments below – do you think there’s such a thing as an architectural typology of suspense?
Situated in a strategic position for the development of the city of Taiyuan, China, the design for the Southern Station West Plaza creates an important hub of services for the city’s population. Designed by AS. Architecture Studio, the project represents the first visual impact the city offers to visitors descending at the southern station, thus acquiring an important communicative and functional value. For this reason, the project constitutes a real landmark, standing out from the surrounding urban environment, enriching it and integrating within at the same time. More images and architects’ description after the break.
