Cultural Center: The Latest Architecture and News

+ 31

Danish practice 3XN Architects will begin construction this year on an IMAX theater, retail and creative office complex for the massive DreamCenter entertainment district on Shanghai’s West Bund. Stressing the importance of the “red carpet” experience, 3XN will incorporate a “Shanghai version of the Spanish steps” which will be used for film premieres, festivals and other cultural events.

+ 19

Text description provided by the architects. If you made it to South By Southwest (SXSW) in Austin this year there is a good chance you were drawn to this 11-foot, steel vaulting structure known as Caret 6. Designed by OTA+ principle Kory Bieg and his 2013 design-build studio from the University of Texas’ (UT) Austin School of Architecture, the CNC-fabricated structure was originally conceived to exhibit the prototypes and winning project from the TEX-FAB's 2013 SKIN Competition before being reassembled as part of the Next Stage and Renegade Craft Fair at the annual interactive, music, and film festival.

Grounded by a central catenary vault, the diamond-celled structure supports two cantilevering arms and a third cascading vault that forms a base for showcasing exhibition content. More information from the design team, after the break...

Videos

+ 22

An expansion to their permanent Level Green exhibition at Volkswagen Autostadt visitor’s center in Wolfsburg, J. MAYER H. has completed a “playful learning landscape” of inhabitable solid wood sculptures that allow children to explore various aspects of sustainability. From the “issue of mobility” to cooking courses, the “MobiVersum” is designed to challenge children’s motor skills and imagination.

+ 23

Videos

Wouldn't it be nice to save a little cold for when it’s hot (and maybe a little warmth for when it’s cold)? This was the premise of LAMAS’s MoMA PS1 runner-up proposal, Underberg. Underberg is an urban iceberg. Though it isn't a native New Yorker, it has adapted to its new home in New York City and its crevasses take on the form of the avenues and streets of the gridiron.

Underberg was one of five proposals shortlisted for the annual MoMA PS1 Young Architect’s Program (YAP) competition, which was won by the Living’s compostable brick tower. More on this proposal, after the break...

With completion in sight (May 2014), Davis Brody Bond has released detailed information on the design of the subterranean 9/11 Memorial Museum in Manhattan. Located beneath the sculptural voids that form the 9/11 Memorial, the new museum has transformed a fixed set of geometric constraints into an emotional journey that gently descends visitors 70 feet below the ground level to the original foundations of the World Trade Center towers.

+ 24

Placing fifth in the international competition to design the Austrian Pavilion for the 2015 Milan Expo, Paolo Venturella’s concept is designed as an extruded version of the Austrian mountain house that connects two major programs: an exhibition space and “big green-house.” To the north, the elevated exhibition space is shielded by a fabric sheathing which diminishes as it moves towards the greenhouse, south, where visitors are presented with a fresh vegetable garden, bar and restaurant that serves traditional cuisine.

+ 14

A vision by Jon Lott (PARA-Project), William O’Brien Jr. (WOJR), and Michael Kubo (over,under), Collective–LOK’s compelling proposal to reimagine MoMA PS1’s triangular courtyard with a billowing “urban mirror” was one of five finalists shortlisted for the annual competition’s 15th edition. Though the Living’s compostable brick tower was ultimately crowned winner, the Collective-LOK’s Mirror Mirror was an intriguing proposal that transcended the boundaries of the site.

+ 9

+ 8

+ 21

+ 25

+ 12