Patrick is ArchDaily's News Editor. Prior to this position, he was an editorial intern for ArchDaily while working full time as an assistant for a watercolor artist. Patrick holds a B. Arch degree from Penn State University and has spent time studying under architect Paolo Soleri. He is currently based in New York City.
“Our instincts could be summed up by the words of Peter Smithson: ‘things need to be ordinary and heroic at the same time,’” said Jury Chairman Stephen Bates. “We were looking for an ordinariness whose understated lyricism is full of potential’.”
Through April, the jury members will visit each finalist project to evaluate the buildings firsthand and to see how they are used by the public. The Prize Winner will be announced in Brussels on May 16.
Richard Meier is well-known for his love of the color white, describing it as “the most wonderful color, because within it you can see all the colors of the rainbow” in his Pritzker Prize acceptance speech. As such, many of his buildings, including the City Hall of The Hague in Netherlands (completed in 1995), are painted head-to-toe in the snowy pigment. But now, all that white has given the building a new unintentional function: as a perfect canvas for the world’s largest Mondrian painting.
Four top architects – Thom Mayne (Morphosis), Tadao Ando, Kengo Kuma and Peter Zumthor – have been tapped to contribute designs for the new “House of Architects” at the 7132 Hotel in ValsSwitzerland. The latest addition to the hotel, The House of Architects features a lobby and entrance also designed by Morphosis Architects, and 7 room designs centered around a single material.
120 HOURS gives students the chance to design a permanent building
On February 28th, 120 HOURS - the world’s largest student architecture competition will launch its 7th annual edition. This year, students from all over the world are invited to take on an extraordinary assignment. The lucky winners will get to see their project become a permanent building.
Over five days, or 120 hours, teams consisting of up to three students will be given the chance to solve a unique architecture challenge that will not only be a tremendous opportunity for the burgeoning professionals, but also impact the life of hundreds children.
A renowned symbol of the modern world, Tokyo is a city commonly associated with bright lights, innovative technology and sleek buildings. So when Polish artist Mateusz Urbanowicz first moved to Tokyo, he was taken aback by the number of old, architecturally eclectic storefronts that continued to flourish within the city.
“When I moved to Tokyo, more than 3 years ago I was really surprised that upon my walks I encountered so many shops still in business in really old buildings,” Urbanowicz explains. “Differently to Kobe, where the earthquake wiped out a lot of these old downtown houses and shops, in Tokyo they still survive.”
Inspired by the buildings’ resilience and their unique architectural features, Urbanowicz set out to document the storefronts in a series of watercolor illustrations, capturing the process through making-of videos.
Yale Art + Architecture Building / Paul Rudolph + Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects. Image Courtesy of gwathmey siegel & associates architects
Architecture students have long groaned (or bragged) about the long hours and all-night work sessions demanded by their chosen major. Surely, we’ve all thought, no other major must be working this hard – right?
Now, thanks to the results of Indiana University's National 2016 Study of Student Engagement (NSSE), those assertions have been backed up with some numbers: architecture students were found to work an average of 22.2 hours per week, more than 2.5 hours more than any other major.
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has named 178 AIA members to be elevated to its prestigious College of Fellows, an honor awarded to members who have made “a significant contribution to architecture and society and who have achieved a standard of excellence in the profession.”
Superthin, flexible glass sounds like something out of a fantasy world – but in fact, it’s something many of us already use everyday as screens for our smartphones and watches. In this video from the Science Channel’s How It’s Made, the intricate process for creating this material, produced by glass manufacturer Schott, is revealed. Watch as the components of the glass are carefully measured out and blended before being melted and reformed into ultrathin sheets.
The Ross Development Trust in collaboration with the City of Edinburgh Council and Malcolm Reading Consultants has launched a global search for an outstanding team of architects, landscape designers, engineers and other specialists for the new circa £25m Ross Pavilion and Gardens project in the heart of Edinburgh.
The Ross Pavilion International Design Competition will award the commission to regenerate and renew an emblematic site at the heart of West Princes Street Gardens, which is presently occupied by the Ross Bandstand.
Stade du Roland Garros, home of one of tennis’ four grand slam tournaments, the French Open, has revealed animations of the two new stadia planned for the historic park grounds. The renovations will include a $400 million redesign of the event’s main stadium and a brand new greenhouse-inspired court, the first of its kind at a major tournament.
The Office for Creative Research's winning design for the 2017 Times Square Valentine Heart Design Competition, We Were Strangers Once Too, has officially opened in New York City's Times Square. A celebration of New York City’s rich immigrant culture, the sculpture takes the form of 33 metal poles inscribed with the origins of foreign-born NYC residents. As visitors travel around the sculpture, the red and pink blocks come together to create an iconic Valentine’s Day heart.
As the finishing touches are applied to the long-awaited Apple Campus 2 (due to be completed in spring of this year), a new report from Reuters has revealed the fantastical strive for perfection demanded by Apple’s in-house project management team. Compiled from interviews with over 20 current and former workers on the project, the piece delves into the exceptional level of detail to which they have held their construction team, which is said to have been the cause of the delay from the project’s original 2016 completion date.
One of the United States’ most recognizable skyscrapers, the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower), is set to receive a $500 million renovation designed by the Chicago office of Gensler. Announced by Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel with real estate holders Blackstone and Equity Office, the project will transform and reinvigorate the 43-year-old building, which held the title of world’s tallest building for nearly a quarter century.
Located along banks of the Tagus in the Lisbon neighborhood of Belém, AL_A's recently completed Museum of Art, Architecture, and Technology (MAAT) has brightened up the Lisbon waterfront with its sleek form and glimmering materiality since its opening last October. These qualities have now been captured in a 4K timelapse video by photographer and filmmaker Alejandro Villanueva. The video shows how the building’s presence transforms throughout the day, as the sun reflects off of its unique ceramic facade.
The Architectural Review (AR) has announced the shortlist of 9 female architects in the running for its 2016 Woman Architect of the Year and the Moira Gemmill Prize for Emerging Architecture awards. This year’s candidates come from a wide range of backgrounds, operating in UK, Mexico, France, the USA and Canada, and have been lauded by the AR for their “projects demonstrating exceptional design and awareness of geographical and political contexts.”
One of architecture’s greatest tales – the commission of Mies van der Rohe’s seminal Farnsworth House – is set to receive the Hollywood treatment. As reported by Showbiz 411’s Roger Friedman, the story of the home’s construction will be taken on by actors Jeff Bridges (as the architect) and Maggie Gyllenhaal (as Dr. Edith Farnsworth), who last teamed up for 2009’s acclaimed Crazy Heart.
AART Architects has won a competition to design a significant new residential and commercial complex in the heart of Aarhus Ø, the newly developed port district of Aarhus, Denmark. The winning proposal, dubbed the Nicolinehus, focuses on “injecting life and authenticity into the new port district and [paving] the way for the unique opportunities the setting provides.” Its design draws inspiration from the old residential blocks of the city center, rethinking the courtyard block typology into a “hybrid of classic residential block and terraced landscape.”
An eclectic stacked skyscraper may become downtown Los Angeles’ newest landmark. Designed by Gensler, the 52-story tower at 1600 South Figueroa would add to Central LA’s current development boom, contributing a mix of housing, retail, offices and a hotel to the area located near the Staples Center and LA Live Entertainment district.