TEX-FAB recently announced the SKIN International Digital Fabrication Competition which asks designers and researchers to speculate, or if they so choose - to present existing research - on the role of the building envelope by exploring new methods to enable the performative and aesthetic qualities of a façade. A building’s skin has the potential to synchronize form and illustrates the totality of the project, while driving how the building responds to its context, its role and ultimately its utility. Design submissions may develop any context they choose, real or virtual, at any scale and on any building type so to present a complete thesis. The deadline for entries in June 30. For more information, please visit here.
Imperial War Museum North by Studio Daniel Libeskind
A 1970 graduate of Cooper Union's architecture program, world-renowned architect Daniel Libeskind will be delivering 'The Art of Memory' lecture, a free event, on Tuesday, April 30th, at 6:00pm. The master planner for Ground Zero and the architect of one of Europe’s most visited museums, the Jewish Museum Berlin, will discuss the role that memory played in his work on those projects and others, such as the Danish Jewish Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark; the Imperial War Museum in Manchester, England; the Military History Museum in Dresden, Germany; and the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco. He will also talk about the acute sense of responsibility he feels, when accepting commissions for projects addressing Jewish history, to create work that honors not only the harsh realities, but also the resilience of the Jewish spirit. For more information, please visit here.
In July 2012, the AA, in partnership with the Adriano Olivetti Foundation and Gehry Technologies, launched Factory Futures: A three year research program aimed at exploring innovative architectural responses for the productive landscape of the future. The mission of Factory Futures is to connect the realms of contemporary urban theory with computational design techniques for the affirmative re-empowerment of the architectural practice within contemporary conditions of production. This year, the Ivrea Visiting School will develop design tools and research concepts to confront this phenomenon, which is challenging the conventions of both architectural design and urban theory during their workshop which takes place July 1-12. More information after the break.
Peter Wilson, partner in the Münster based office of BOLLES+WILSON, was recently awarded the AIA's (Australian Institute of Architects) highest honor, its 2013 Gold Medal. The recognition acknowledges Peter Wilson's role as remarkable statesman for Australia as well as an outstanding body of architectural works of great distinction, widely published and exhibited over more than thirty years. The Gold Medal also cites Wilson's longstanding contribution to the development of architectural drawing as a tool of representation and research. More information on Wilson's award after the break.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has launched an open and international architecture competition for their new headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. With the volume of the planned building at roughly 70,000m3, with a ground surface area of 18,000m2, the development will include headquarters for 450 staff members, “Olympic campus” housing administrative buildings, and possible accommodation and services. This will allow the IOC to benefit from two Olympic sites in Lausanne: one in Ouchy around The Olympic Museum, to host the general public; and the other in Vidy for the whole administrative staff and to host its institutional partners. The deadline for submissions is May 15. For more information, please visit here.
Claire Weisz, AIA, founding principal of WXY and a frequently cited expert source on waterfront design, will be speaking on the topic "Ecological Barriers: Holding Sea Levels at Bay" with a panel at 6:00pm on April 25 in New York City. A leading advocate for post-Hurricane Sandy infrastructure design, Weisz's firm is known for such waterfront projects as the East River Blueway, a planned reconstruction of miles of Manhattan water's edge, as well as Transmitter Park, Rockaway Park, Sherman Creek Waterfront, and Battery Park.
reSITE, the international festival about collaborative and sustainable urban planning, continues into its second year with more interesting themes and guests with the goal to transform Prague into a modern European metropolis at the center of the urbanism world from June 19-23. The main theme of the second annual conference (June 20-21) is Metropolis Central – reflecting Central European cities and the increasing number of young, creative people who are the infinite resources of those urban centers. The conference will focus on providing a process and potential solutions for the conflicted desires of Central European citizens. More information after the break.
Courtesy of Organizing Committee of Shenzhen Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture
The Organizing Committee of the Shenzhen Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture recently announced that the 2013 Biennale, which will open December 6, will be delivered by two curatorial teams, consisting of Team Ole Bouman and Team Li Xiangning + Jefferey Johnson. Old Bouman wil act as curator, creative director. Li Xiangning + Jefferey Johnson will be the curators, academic directors. The main venues for the event are the former YAOPI float glass factory (venue A) and the old warehouse at Shekou ferry terminal (venue B). More information after the break.
Courtesy of Woodbury University School of Architecture
Taking place tomorrow, April 11th, at 6:00pm, Woodbury University's School of Architecture will be hosting the Juan Pablo Corvalan Hochberger, Supersudaca lecture. Supersudaca'smain driving motto has been to connect the usually disconnected Latinamerica architectural arena with projects directly related to the public perception such as recreation spaces, public spaces, installations etc in various locations such as Caracas, Lima, Tokyo, Talca, Buenos Aires. They continuously use the workshop format with students from various universities worldwide to launch campaigns for such projects. For more information, please visit here.
Taking place this Friday, April 12th, from 4:00pm-8:30pm, the Doctor of Design program at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design is inviting you to 'Research as Practice', their annual Convergence symposium. As the traditional boundaries of design practice are increasingly questioned, broadened, and blurred, scientific research in technology development and application emerges as an essential vehicle for exploration and assessment. In this inaugural year, the symposium will seek to explore the position, relevancy, and sustainability of applied research in design practice across various disciplines with examples from contemporary practitioners. For more information, please visit here. For more information, please visit here.
On view until this Saturday, April 13th, at the Galerie d’Architecture in Paris, the 'Panta Rhei' exhibition by Josep Lluís Mateo of Mateo Arquitectura is a tour through time: the past, present and future of the practice’s work. Highlighting projects, materials and moments that tend to be concealed from view, their 'everything flows' themed exhibit forms part of the agency’s praxis. Mateo displays how the present leads us to the future, and projects that are already being transported to reality. Also, the present of that which is clearly finished, and a trace of the past that has brought us to this point. An exhibition allows us to salvage, for a moment, materials produced in different contexts, to support ideas, explain stories or understand a world. For more information, please visit here. More images of the exhibition can be viewed after the break.
Socrates Sculpture Park and The Architectural League of New York recently announced the selection of Toshihiro Oki architect for tree wood as the winner of this year’s “Folly” competition – an extraordinary opportunity for emerging architects and designers to experiment and build large-scale projects for outdoor exhibition. tree wood will be a rigid yet airy geometrical wooden structure placed within a grove of trees – a lush and dense area at Socrates Sculpture Park. Visitors will peer into the structure through the floor beams where a formal, ornate chandelier will be suspended. The installation creates a dialogue between built structures and systems with the irregular and organic. This winning project will open at Socrates Sculpture Park on Sunday, May 12th from 2-6pm. More information after the break.
As part of INTERNI’s Hybrid Architecture Exhibition event, Steven Holl Architects will be opening their 'INVERSION' installation tomorrow, April 9th, in Milan. In addition, Steven Holl will deliver a lecture in the Aula Magna of the Università degli Studi di Milano at 10am. Shown in the Cortile 700 of the Università degli Studi di Milano, the installation features six void-cut, 21 million year old limestone blocks, which frame a sheet of water. The process, beginning with a 5”x7” watercolor sketch in New York City, which is transformed into a 3D file and then sent to Lecce, required no working drawings. More information on their installation after the break.
Located on a long and very narrow site, on the edge of Parc La Vilette in Paris’s 19th district, the major objective of the Basket Apartments was to provide students with a healthy environment for studying, learning and meeting. Designed by OFIS architects, their video gives viewers a look at the surrounding urban context, including the new Paris tram route passing along the site. The open corridor, gallery, and studio spaces are all illustrated here as the film takes you through a typical experience by its users.
Videos
Courtesy of The Architect's Newspaper + enclos
Taking place April 11-12 in New York, the Facades+ Performance Symposium will focus on cutting through the jargon to consider the heart of high performance building envelopes. Presented by The Architect's Newspaper and enclos, they recently announced that an additional workshop will take place on Friday, April 12. This workshop will focus on the fundamental concepts and workflows for creating performance-based design models with the parametric design tool, Grasshopper for Rhino3D. Using Grasshopper, participants will be guided through a series of exercises designed to emphasize the relevant applications of parametric design for professional practice. To sign up, and for more information on the two-day event, please visit here. A video can be viewed after the break.
Currently taking place at the Art Tower Mito's Contemporary Art Gallery and Plaza until May 12, the 'Shigeru Ban – Architecture and Humanitarian Activities' exhibition is the architect's largest exhibition and encourages visitors to think about the architect's role in society. From his early works and a pioneering new architectural material to an ongoing disaster project, the exhibition explores the diverse activities and achievements of the architect as well as his vision and spirit to challenge social issues and disasters. Featuring architectural models, mock-ups, photographs, videos of his major and important works, and furniture, Ban is known for his innovative work constructed by developing or applying building materials from objects already existing in our everyday lives. For more information, please visit here.
Organized by ORLI (Operation Resilient Long Island), a student-led grassroots committee of architecture, interior design, and construction management students from New York Institute of Technology, the 3C Comprehensive Coastal Communities Competition aims to catalyze the discussion of rezoning towns that are vulnerable to coastal storms. The post-Sandy rebuilding process has already begun, yet there are no strategies on how rebuilding communities can accommodate transforming coastal housing typologies. In effort to help local communities preserve the value of their neighborhoods, the challenge is to create a vision for a specific northeastern coastal community. Participants should design a resilient housing typology and integrate it into the community master plan. Submissions are due no later than July 25. To register, and for more information, please visit here.
