The green folks at Inhabitat sent us this interesting project. This stunning energy-efficient office recently won a competition to design the 2012 location for Norway’s oil company StatoilHydro. Conceived by Oslo’s A-Lab, the modern and flexible office compound took the winning bid from a pool of some 40 entries. The new site and office center brings together two previously separated buildings, opening up more efficient communication and reducing the need for cross-town travel and courier services. Five separate wings lie on top of each other in the shape of a star, keeping particular offices regionalized while still attached.
For more information, click here. More images, after the break.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is probably one of the biggest concerns to the world leaders. Although sometimes it may seem that nothing will help solve this crisis, there are still people willing to believe that peace is possible between Israel and Palestine. One of them is Viktor Ramos, an architecture student from Rice University.
Viktor designed this gigantic bridges in which both states can live together. The result is a fantastic example of architectural speculation: genuinely massive – and impossibly cantilevered – bridges used as transport links, aerial housing, and skyborne agricultural complexes, all in one.
More information about this project, here. More images, after the break.
Our friends from SHL architects just sent us their new project. They won an international competition to design “Urban Mediaspace”, the largest public library in Scandinavia. The € 228 million scheme, located in Aarhus, Denmark, will become a new visual and cultural focal point for the city whilst pioneering the next generation of library design.
SHL Architects’ innovative, 30.000 m2 scheme reassesses traditional concepts of library design. Instead of a building focused around books, “Urban Mediaspace” is a hub of social interaction, incorporating interior and exterior recreational spaces for studying, socialising, and relaxing. The building will also have the capacity to host multi-media and cultural events.
The building’s distinctive heptagonal-shape design will be a landmark in Aarhus. The library’s offices will have impressive panoramic views over the harbour with steps leading out on to the waterfront. SHL Architects’ design connects the library to the Aarhus River by creating an external recreational area that will run along the south side of the “Urban Mediaspace”. The building’s glazed façade will create light, well-ventilated interior spaces whilst also making the inside of the library visible to passersby, inviting the community inside.
Located in South Korea, the apartments are built using oblique lines in which each unit consists of a terrace.
The building, designed by Korean firm Unsangdong Architects, consists of various community spaces which include parks, leisure facilities, event space, a library, media space and performance space.
Tragedy has struck Australia in the past weeks. Big, unstoppable, uncontrollable fires destroyed 750 houses (with over 210 people killed) in the state of Victoria, taking the lives of many people in the way. But along with tragic situations, new opportunities come to help those who are in need. Australian firm, 1:1 Architects have designed the House re-Growth Pod.
It is a permanent and cost effective housing unit which can assist in the rebuilding of the fire devastated town-ships of Victoria.
The robust pre-fabricated concrete structure has been designed to be built upon, but in the short term acts as a habitable starting point for the building of a new home. The units can be prefabricated, delivered and connected to services rapidly allowing families to begin the process of re-building without displacement from their communities.
The House Pod is not just relief housing it is a starting block for the re-growth of regional Victoria. Ecotec Build Solutions have already offered to construct a prototype.
French firm archi5 has been announced winner of the International Master Plan Competition for Stockholm’s Nya Årstafältet neighborhood. Archi5′s winning proposal ‘Arkipelag’ has been a collaboration with landscape architect Michel Desvigne.
The master plan covers 260 acres of which 2,260,000 sf will be used for office space and 4,300,000 sf for residential.
Seen at Bustler. For more information, click here. More images after the break.
This is the design proposed by NL Architects for the Taipei Performing Arts Center. The structure contains three theaters, including a 1500-seat Grand Theater, and two 800-seat theaters. Although critics praised the aesthetics, they noted two critical issues: acoustics would be disastrous and the lack of sun for several of the cubes. The competition was finally won by OMA.
You can also see Abalos proposal here. More images after the break.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a beautiful house on the beach to go every weekend and relax? Until you get one, you can catch up with today’s “Round Up” and start dreaming with your favorite Beach House previously featured on ArchDaily. Enjoy it!
The Serpentine Gallery is delighted to announce that the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2009 will be designed by architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, of the leading Japanese practice SANAA. Sejima and Nishizawa’s Pavilion will be the architects’ first built structure in the UK and the ninth commission in the Gallery’s annual series of Pavilions, the world’s first and most ambitious architectural programme of its kind. The Pavilion will open in July on the Serpentine Gallery’s lawn, where it will remain until October.
The legendary Bauhaus movement turns 90 this year and the anniversary is being marked by exhibitions from Tokyo to New York. The school was founded by a young architect, Walter Gropius, who wanted to shape products for the future and create a more just society.
Steven Holl Architects‘ winning design from the “4 Tower in 1″ competition calls for a quartet of towers to be built around the brand new Shenzhen Stock Exchange and its surrounding plaza.
The folks at Art & Seek published a video with interesting insights on the construction of the Wyly Theater in Dallas, TX designed by REX | OMA, which is almost complete.
World Expositions have been an architectural playground since they started to appear: London World Exposition of 1851 (Crystal Palace), Paris World Exposition of 1889 (Eiffel Tower), and more recently, Hannover 2000 and Zaragoza 2008.
Max Wallack, a 12 year old from Natick, has just won WGBH’s Design Squad “Trash to Treasure” design contest with his “Home Dome” invention, which is a shelter for the homeless, built with just plastic, wire and packing peanuts. The structure is in the form of a Mongolian yurt and includes a built-in bed.
For his winning design, Max won $10,000, a Dell laptop and a trip to Boston to see how his design becomes real. The “Home Dome” was selected as the winning innovation out of more than 1,000 contest submissions.
Seen at The Design Blog. Watch a video about the winner, after the break.
For many people, a nice house isn’t complete without a nice patio. So this Friday, we bring you a “Round Up” with our best selection of patio houses previously published on ArchDaily.
Secretary of State for Cultura Media and Sport Andy Burnham, will officially open Alison Brooks Architect’sQuarterhouse Performing Arts and Business Centre in Folkestone, located in the Kent district, England. The ceremony will take place in March 5.
The building is the centrepiece of the city’s arts-led regeneration programme spearheaded by client The Creative Foundation. The 1550 sqm includes a 220 seat, 500 standing multi-purpose auditorium for music, dance, theatre, film performances and conferences; ground floor foyer and exhibition space; first floor café/bar and a top floor business centre for start-ups in the creative industries.
The London architecture firm Sarah Wigglesworth Architects have finished a bike store in Bermondsey, London. The structure can store 76 bikes in two levels, using a system designed by bicycle rack producers Josta.
The building is constructed from 13 portal frames, clad externally with triangular, stainless-steel panels and internally with translucent, glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) sheeting. The structure will provide secure shelter for residents and workers in the Bermondsey Square area.
