Cultural Center: The Latest Architecture and News

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New York-based, Serbian-born performance artist Marina Abramović has successfully secured funding via Kickstarter for phase one of an interdisciplinary performance and education center in Hudson, New York. The project, known as the Marina Abramovic Institute for the Preservation of Performance Art (MAI), aims to be the first crowdfunded cultural institution ever to be built as well as the only international arts center dedicated to presentation and preservation of long-durational work. With the help of Abramović’s “global community of collaborators,” OMA will now move forward with the project’s design development process. More information on the MAI’s design can be found here.

The Niterói Contemporary Art Museum, also know as the MAC, was designed by the famed Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer and completed in 1996. This iconic saucer-shaped structure, situated on a cliffside above Guanabara bay in the city of Niterói, brilliantly frames the panoramic views of the city of Rio De Janeiro and encapsulates the simple, yet brilliant signature aesthetic of Niemeyer.

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Located in the core area of Kunming Chenggong New C.B.D, the main challenge for the design of the Southwest International Ethnic Culture and Art Center was to integrate the local cultures plus various functional programs into one contemporary yet harmonious form. Designed by team members Wang Wensheng, Damian Donze and Sidney Gong of the Tongji Architectural Design and Research Institute, their winning proposal takes on an abstract path to integrate the local cultures. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Forming a distinctive entrance to the listed Baden-Wurttemberg parliament building, the design for the Citizen and Media Centre by Henning Larsen Architects recently won the first prize in the competition. The new entrance is shaped like a large amphitheatre, sunk in the ground to attract its 65,000 visitors a year. The round shape also creates an agora in the center, ideal for political meetings and public cultural events alike. More images and architects' description after the break.

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Designed by AVA (Andrea Vattovani Architecture), their proposal for the Museum of Bavarian History not only creates an icon for the city, but their intervention is able to emphasize and further develop the city structure. Since a box-like form didn‘t seem to be the best solution for integrating the museum in its surroundings, they took special notice of the urban surroundings and protected monuments in the development process. More images and architects’ description after the break.

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Designed by PAPER | TOTEMENT, their competition proposal for the architectural and visual image of the frontage of the new building of the State Tretyakov Gallery encompasses conceptual, imaginary and compositional aspects as well as its relation with the environment (city and the existing complex of the gallery), history and designation of the building. The current space planning design decision also implied some particular limitations and framework. And of course, the main objective was to combine all these decisions in an integral image of the Modern Russian, Moscow art museum. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The main idea for the Litterfall Social and Cultural Center was to create a space and atmosphere where people come together to share their ideas, talk, sing, paint, dance and create a social and cultural life to illuminate their own daily life. Designed by Ziya Imren Architects, this small scale building typology is a very important to the culture of Istanbul, since it offers a comfortable place, where people can feel themselves at home and contribute to their own artworks. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Designed by SPEECH Architectural Office, their winning proposal for the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow supports the philosophy established by the museum: preserving the national heritage and engaging in relevant dialogue with the society. This dynamic dialogue is expressed in the architectural concept of the building’s façade, decorated by white picture frames of various sizes placed according to the pattern of the original hanging of the pictures in the City Art Gallery of P. M. Tretyakov and S. M. Tretyakov, forming the image of a wall with pictures. These are living pictures created by the visitors to the museum. More images and architects' description after the break.

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Freecell Architecture's proposal for the PXSTL Competition was recently announced one of the three finalists by the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts and the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University. Participants were asked to reimagine a vacant lot in St. Louis’ Grand Center cultural district while exploring the critical role arts and culture play in creating vibrant, growing communities. The competition aims to demonstrate how small-scale interventions can spur large-scale urban transformation, and Freecell's proposal was selected for their ability to visualize Grand Center’s long-term vitality, emphasizing community engagement, interactive elements, and cross-disciplinary collaboration among St. Louis’ many cultural organizations. More images and information after the break.

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