In 2014, Snøhetta was announced as one of two winners in a competition to design new banknotes for the Norwegian Bank. Now, after 2 years of development, the first bills have been produced and are nearly ready to begin full circulation.

To coincide with the occasion, Norges Bank has released a series of videos explaining the design and production process. Check them out below.

Studio Libeskind and the Dutch Auschwitz Committee have revealed plans for the Holocaust Monument of Names, to be located in the heart of Amsterdam’s Jewish Cultural District. Incorporating the letters of the Hebrew word לזכר (meaning “In Memory of”), the memorial will be the first to memorialize the names of all 102,000 Dutch victims of the Holocaust.

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Videos

Cox Architecture has been selected as the winners of an invited competition for the new North Queensland Stadium in Townsville, Australia, beating out finalist proposals from BVN Architecture, Hassell and Populous. With a roof design inspired by the native Pandanus tree, the new stadium will provide seating for 25,000 spectators as the new home to the National Rugby League’s North Queensland Cowboys.

The Hudson River Park Trust has revealed plans to transform the 800-foot-long Pier 26, located on the Hudson River in the New York neighborhood of TriBeCa. Currently vacant, the pier is set to receive a new park designed by landscape architects OLIN Studio and a maritime education center designed by Rafael Viñoly Architects.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has selected The Grand Louvre – Phase I as the recipient of the 2017 AIA Twenty-five Year Award. Designed by I.M. Pei with his firm Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, the project is notable for its 71-foot-tall glass and stainless steel pyramid, which according to the AIA, “now rivals the Eiffel Tower as one of France’s most recognizable architectural icons.”

The award is presented annually to a project that has "stood the test of time by embodying architectural excellence for 25 to 35 years."

Quicken Loans Arena, home of the current NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers, is set to receive a $140 million transformation. Designed by SHoP and Rossetti, the project will consist of significant upgrades to address the arena’s structural and operational deficiencies and improve the overall fan experience.

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Working with developer Skanska, Grimshaw has designed a master plan for Bristol Temple Square in Bristol, England, that will contain a new start-up incubator and co-working space known as Engine Shed 02. The development will serve as an activated public area linking the Bristol Temple Meads Railway Station and the city center.

The masterplan unlocks a previously isolated site adjacent to the Temple Circus roundabout by creating a new walkway, the Brunel Mile, which prioritizes pedestrian and cyclist circulation through the area. A new public square along the path will also contribute to reinvigorating the neighborhood.

Construction has begun on Kengo Kuma’s design for the Tokyo 2020 National Olympic Stadium, a year after the scheme was selected to replace the original stadium design by Zaha Hadid Architects and three and a half years before the event’s opening ceremony on July 24, 2020.

UNStudio and textile manufacturer MDT-tex have completed the Eye_Beacon Pavilion for the Amsterdam Light Festival. Serving as a ticketing and information booth for event goers, the pavilion’s design draws inspiration from the festival’s 2017 theme of biomimicry, specifically the bioluminescent organisms of the deep sea world.

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Following the announcements of the 2017 AIA Gold Medal and Architecture Firm of the Year winners, The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has announced the winners of three other national awards: the Edward C. Kemper Award,the Topaz Medallion, and the Whitney M. Young Jr. Award.

San Franisco-based Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects (LMSA) has been chosen as the recipient of the 2017 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Architecture Firm Award.

“Their passion for addressing some of the profession’s thorniest issues including regenerative design, universal access, social equity and housing for the most disadvantaged has been consistent and impressive,” wrote Bob Berkebile, FAIA Emeritus, in a recommendation letter.

Videos

The team led by light artist Leo Villareal and architects and urban planners Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands has been announced as the winner of the Illuminated River International Design Competition.

Selected from a six-strong shortlist of internationally acclaimed architects and designers, the winning design was lauded by Illuminated River Foundation Chair Hannah Rothschild as “beautiful, ambitious and realisable but always considerate to the environment, lighting levels and energy conservation.”

Studio Gang has revealed their design for One Hundred, a mixed-use tower to be located on Forest Park in St. Louis, Missouri. Studio Gang’s first project in the city, the tower will rise over 350 feet and include retail, amenities, parking and residential apartments featuring views of the park and the Gateway Arch.

Steven Holl Architects have revealed plans for a new library and campus design in Malawi, coinciding with the project’s approval by The Miracle for Africa Foundation. To be constructed of local stone, bamboo and concrete, the library will provide 66,000 square feet (6,132 square meters) of study and gathering space to the community.

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Update: We've amended the post with new images from Asymptote Architecture and new quotes from Asymptote Co-founder and Design Partner Hani Rashid.

Asymptote Architecture has revealed renderings of their design for a new Contemporary branch of the Hermitage Museum, to be located adjacent to a new residential district in the area of the former ZIL automotive plant in Moscow. Presented at the V Saint Petersburg International Cultural Forum by Asymptote Co-founder and Design Partner Hani Rashid, the museum will house a collection of contemporary art from 20th and 21st centuries.

Videos

An “alternative Christmas tree” designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) has been erected in the courtyard of the Utzon Center, coinciding with SOM’s current exhibition, ‘Sky’s the Limit’. Located on the waterfront in Aalborg, Denmark, the Utzon Center was the last project to be designed by the center’s namesake, renowned Danish architect Jørn Utzon.

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Foster + Partners’ designs for the latest tower to be located within New York’s Hudson Yards megaproject have been revealed. Named 50 Hudson Yards, the building will rise 985 feet (300 meters) into the sky in becoming New York City’s fourth largest commercial office tower with 2.9 million gross square feet and the new home of leading investment firm BlackRock.

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