Shigeru Ban, Pritzker Prize-winner, and Ole Scheeren, RIBA silver medalist, were appointed for the Hangzhou Wangjiang New Town master plan. Creating new art and cultural destination in the historical city, the project in collaboration with New World Development and K11 Group seeks to build a landmark that meets the needs of the new generation.
MVRDV and The Why Factory (Delft University of Technology) revealed “Le Grand Puzzle”, a book that holds ambitious ideas for Marseille, in the south of France. In fact, the study, made from 2018 to the start of 2020, “proposes a methodology, an agenda, and an analysis to portray today’s Marseille”.
The Seoul Compact City has held 3 different international design competitions, in 3 different neighborhoods in Seoul, South Korea, hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and organized by Seoul Housing Corporation (SH Corporation). Aiming to create complex urban spaces in each of the interventions of the three-dimensional project, the contest selected visionary winning teams for each thematic, focusing on the introduction of public housing units and the enhancement of the infrastructure.
Putting together competition entries from all around the world, this week’s curated feature for Best Unbuilt Architecture showcases inspiring approaches and concepts. Submitted by our readers, the selection highlights uncommon proposals, part of international contests. While some are winning projects, others received honorable mentions.
Serie imagines stacked timber pavilion-like offices, Schlaich Bergermann Partner, LAVA, and Latz + Partner design new pedestrian and cycle bridge over the Neckar River in Heidelberg, Germany and Aidia Studio create an Oculus in the Emirati desert. Other competition entries include a landscaped avenue by ZXD Architects in Hangzhou, a community school in Egypt by Hand Over, a winning pavilion for the Singapore’s Archifest 2020 by ADDP Architects and OWIU Design Studio; and a Baha’i House of Worship by SpaceMatters in India.
BIG, Hijjas, and Ramboll were selected as winners of Penang State Government’s international competition to design a master plan for Penang South Islands in Malaysia. The proposal entitled BiodiverCity, fits into the island's 2030 vision, and generates 4.6km of public beaches, 600 acres of parks and a 25km waterfront. An Urban Mosaic of three diverse islands, the project establishes new urban design guidelines, mixing programs, addressing pedestrian and mobility networks, building sustainably, and harvesting resources.
Dominique Perrault’s proposal has won “the transformation and revival of industrial heritages” or the Hangang district urban design international competition, in Handan, China. Six teams from world-renowned architectural firms, including Coop Himmelb(l)au and UNStudio Team, were invited to participate in the contest and envision the future of the city, through their creative designs.
This week’s curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture encompasses conceptual proposals submitted by our readers. It features diverse functions and tackles different scales, from a spiraling bridge in China to a transportation hub dedicated primarily to space travel in Japan.
Comprising uncommon design approaches, this article introduces a humanitarian architectural response to the needs of the residents in an informal Egyptian settlement. In the master plan category, a Green city proposal highlights how we should develop our cities and neighborhoods in the future, and the first net-zero energy airport in Mexico reinterprets holistic design approaches. Moreover, the roundup presents different cultural interventions, from a museum in Botswana, an installation at the Burning Man festival by AI Studio, and an observatory in Vietnam.
CRA - Carlo Ratti Associati has unveiled a major extension for Brazilia, reinterpreting “Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer’s modernist master plan for Biotic - a high-tech innovation district immersed in nature”. Developed in collaboration with Ernst&Young, the project that started in 2018 reimagines primarily the superblocks.
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Proposing a reflective “floating garden” to counterpoint the existing absolutist castle, MVRDV has won the competition for the masterplan of the Ettlinger Tor area in Karlsruhe, Germany, taking joint-first place alongside Max Dudler Architekten. Inspired by the historical fabric of the city, the project imagines a new composition, blurring divisions, and bringing more greenery to the area.
By 2025, Frost and Sullivan, a market research company, has predicted that there will be at least 26 fully-fledged major smart cities around the world. While some still think that as our cities get more intelligent, they will resemble sci-fi futuristic movies, the reality is that the quality of life in these cities will drastically improve. Cities are set to become more efficient with better services. Nevertheless, before reaching these ideals, let us go back on the process itself, and evaluate the challenges that we might face.
Because the concept of smart cities is still very new, with rare finalized and implemented projects, the topic is still unclear. Although big titles and strategies are well defined, the on-ground application is still uncertain, giving us the opportunity to question its planning process. In fact, how can we go wrong when designing smart cities? What key element are we failing to address in the planning phase?
UNStudio in collaboration with Johan Cruijff ArenA designed a winning plan for the Korean National Football Centre in Seoul. Focusing on health, wellness, science, technology, education, and promoting a healthy lifestyle, the project was selected as the winning design in an international closed competition that took place in March this year.
UNStudio has recently designed the masterplan for Gyeongdo Island, a new sustainable leisure destination in South Korea. Driven by nature, the 470,000 m2 buildings and public spaces are centered on the qualities of a green environment.
Aedas has released images of the new Xiangyang Overseas Chinese Town Cultural & Tourism Development Area Joy Town. Expected to be completed in 2022, the project, located in the Ecological and Cultural Tourism Department in western Hubei, “will provide citizens and visitors with a unique and culturally immersive Xiangyang experience”.
Presented part of international competitions, this week’s best-unbuilt architecture gathers award-winning projects submitted by our readers. Highlighting as usual diverse approaches from across the globe, ArchDaily is rounding up in this article, a curated selection of cultural, civic, and urban proposals.
In Singapore, an adaptive reuse project transforms a power station into a creative industrial hub, while in Indonesia, a smart city design for the new capital generates an ecologically responsible environment. Moreover, Kjellander Sjöberg designs and develops an original city block in Stockholm, and TheeAe imagines a city hall for China. Other proposals include an entire reflective surface for a public square in Italy, a new city district in Tampere Finland, a University building in Warsaw, and a school for contemporary art in Vienna.
Designed by Sasaki in collaboration with an interdisciplinary team including Arup, JLL, and the Wuhan Planning Institute, the Wuhan Yangchun Lake Business District master plan was approved by the city. Imagining “a progressive yet realistic vision for the district”, the project, a landscape-forward urban blueprint, will define Wuhan’s next generation of growth.
This week’s curated selection from our readers’ submissions focuses on some of the essential components of our present-day cities.
Featuring the best-unbuilt architecture, the article highlights adaptive reuse projects that transformed abandoned warehouses and factories, a street design in Luxembourg, a regenerative master plan in Seoul, and an emergency family accommodation to temporarily house those in need. Moreover, the roundup distinguishes a library in South Korea and an extension of a museum in Helsinki, because the cultural aspect is an integral part of our urban environment.
The Open International Competition for the Development of a Master Plan for the Territory Adjacent to the Samara Arena (total area: 360 hectares) was announced on 26 February at the TASS information agency (the major Russian news agency) in Moscow.
PAU or Practice for Architecture and Urbanism, a multi-disciplinary design and planning firm founded by Vishaan Chakrabarti, created a revitalization plan for Sunnyside Yard in western Queens, New York. Envisioning a more equitable and sustainable future, the 180-acre human-centered carbon-neutral master plan reflects the community’s needs.
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