After an international design competition and nearly two years of design, the high-profile, 2.5-million-square-foot Chinatrust Bank headquarters has broken ground in Taiwan. Designed by the Los Angeles office of NBBJ, in cooperation with the local firm Fei & Cheng Associates, the project is slated to reach completion in 2012.
The Chinatrust Bank development will consist of a 30-story headquarters building, a 21-story commercial office building, a 10-story hotel, and a four-level retail center. The project is designed to accommodate the bank’s growth, while supporting its status as the “Best Bank in Taiwan,” as named in Asiamoney, Euromoney, and FinanceAsia publications.
In January, the Architectural Billings Index (ABI) sunk to 33.3, the lowest level in its 13-year history. The score has fallen below 50 for 12 straight months; a score above 50 indicates an increase in billings, and below 50, a decrease.
For those who are looking for a nice holiday home with three bedrooms, a social bathroom, a living room, a dinning room, a small kitchen with a support washbasin, pantry, and even a small outdoor swimming pool, this might be your lucky day. Tóló House (previously published on ArchDaily), designed by Alvaro Leite Siza, located in Lugar das Carvalhinhas – Alvite, Cerva Parish, Ribeira da Pena Commune, Vila Real District, Portugal, is now for sale.
Into the Open: Positioning Practice is the official U.S. representation at the 11th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia. The exhibition explores how architects, urban researchers, and community activists are meeting the challenges of creating new work in response to contemporary social conditions. The exhibition also addresses factors challenging traditional methods of architecture, such as shifting socio-cultural demographics, changing geo-political boundaries, uneven economic development, and the explosion of migration and urbanization. At the same time, it will advocate for an expanded conception of architectural practice and responsibility. The sixteen practitioners included, all of whom actively engage communities in their work, demonstrate multifaceted responses to social and environmental issues.
This was sent to us by Klaus Olsen via our Facebook Group. The Danish architects JAJA have just revealed their new proposal for an office and shop complex in Sandnes – Norway. They have worked with Rambøll Aros on this 13,000m2 project.
The building is named after an ancient Viking Ship, which was called worm Lange. The ship was Norwegian, and it feels appealing to draw historical references to a piece of contemporary architecture.
Belgium opened a new €20 million “zero emissions” polar science station in Antarctica on Sunday, returning to the continent to study climate change 42 years after closing its first base there.
On the occasion of the first edition of its Public Design Festival, esterni announces an international call for entries to search for ideas and projects for public spaces; among all submissions, 10 projects will be selected, carried out and presented during the festival, that will take place in Milan on April 18-26 2009. This unique opportunity to design a planned intervention on an urban parking area is open to different types of approaches, from community service to urban furniture.
The Imperial War Museum North in Manchester, England, was designed by Daniel Libeskind and completed in 2001. The museum was mainly sorrounded by a plain exterior, occupied by a parking lot. The canal-side building is planning a new design landscape and collected proposals from several firms in a competition. The entries have come to five finalists, from which the final design should be chosen this March.
Our green friends from Inhabitat just shared this with us: Morris Architects, a Houston-based architecture and design firm, recently took top honors for two of their submissions in the Radical Innovation in Hospitality design competition. The grand prize winner, the Oil Rig Platform Resort and Spa makes use of one of 4,000 oil rigs out in the Gulf of Mexico and transforms it into a luxurious eco-resort and spa.
Cesar Dubó sent us this link to Flavor Wire (Flavorpill’s Blog). It shows the very best songs related to architecture. Please, feel free to submit your own favorites in the comments.
We just saw this link on VariousArchitect´s Twitter, and thought it might interest you. Small architectural practices are bearing the brunt of the recession with 47% saying they do not have enough work, new research reveals.
International architectural firm Coop Himmelb(l)au have received the first prize in the competition to design the new ‘Headquarter of China Insurance Group’ in Shenzen, China. It will be part of a lively business quarter in the heart of the central district of Shenzhen made up of a carefully composed ensemble of individual towers creating a landmark silhouette.
