Mandarin Oriental Residences in Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Cultural District / BIG. Image Courtesy of BIG
Recent architectural announcements showcase a global range of projects. This month, some of the most recognized architectural offices in the world have announced ambitious projects, some engaging with local communities, rediscovering and revitalizing existing structures, or contributing to complex architectural landscapes. Among them, BIG revealed their proposal for Saadiyat Island, a cultural district that gathers some of the world's most famous designers. Additionally, Populous revealed a new performance center, KCAP is developing a framework for an eco-industrial park, and Henley Halebrown is working to revitalize an overlooked structure in Belgium, reopening it to the local community. Read on to discover a collection of recent announcements from the architectural world, peeking into established architects' processes and recent announcements.
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. Image Courtesy of Snohetta
Construction has just begun on Snøhetta’sCharlotte Mecklenburg Library in North Carolina,USA. The new project is designed to become a significant destination in Uptown Charlotte. Last week, the main library organized a commemoration to celebrate the beginning of the demolition phase on site in anticipation of the upcoming construction. It is set to open in the spring of 2026.
George Smart is an unlikely preservationist, almost an accidental one. The founder and executive director of USModernist, a nonprofit dedicated to the preservation and documentation of modern houses, Smart worked for 30 years as a management consultant. “I was doing strategic planning and organization training,” he says. “My wife refers to this whole other project as a 16-year seizure.” Recently I spoke with Smart about his two websites, the podcast, the house tours his organization conducts, and why documentation is such a power preservation tool.
Plant 7 at Congdon Yards, an adaptive reuse project in High Point, North Carolina. Image Courtesy of Keith Isaas
Adaptive reuse or the process of transforming an older building by reusing the structure and changing its original purpose, has gained relevance over the years especially because it allows a complete optimization of the performance of the existing built environment. In a piece, originally published on Metropolis, author Elissaveta Brandon explores how "architects and developers are transforming the staples of the South—located throughout a 120-mile region from Winston-Salem to Fayetteville—into infrastructure fit for today". Transforming historic mills into design hubs, and mixed-use complexes, the article highlights 3 examples from North Carolina.
https://www.archdaily.com/963472/three-adaptive-reuse-projects-in-north-carolina-reinvent-historic-millsElissaveta M. Brandon
Fauzia Khanani is no stranger to challenging the status quo. Working on a range of projects around the globe, from New York and Zurich to Budapest and Geneva, she continues to rethink the process of design across the built environment. Her firm, Studio For, is pioneering new prototypes for the future of work in a post pandemic era. At the same time, she's working on a number of pro-bono conceptual community-driven projects.
Henning Larsen was just selected for the design of the first phase of the Civic Campus in Raleigh, North Carolina. In collaboration with local firm RATIO, the project part of the city’s strategic plan consists of creating the East Civic Tower, the town's city hall.
Designed by Snøhetta in collaboration with Clark Nexsen, the new Main Library of Charlotte Mecklenburg Library reinterprets the space through a technologically-advanced approach and highlights the importance of this function in the community's daily life.
Dorothea Dix Park. Image Courtesy of Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates
The largest park project in the United States is underway at Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh, North Carolina. The city purchased the Dorothea Dix campus from the State of North Carolina in 2015 with the intent of creating a great destination park in the heart of the community. This year, Raleigh City Council adopted the Dorothea Dix Park Master Plan, and now an implementation plan is underway for Phase 1. Designed to span decades, the creation of the 300 acre park will include the site of North Carolina’s first mental hospital.
Discovery Place Science Center, Grand Opening Day 1981. Image Courtesy of Discovery Place
Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) has been selected by Discovery Place and the City of Charlotte to design the new Discovery Place Science center in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. Partnering with architect-of-record Jenkins•Peer Architects (J•PA), the team will create a masterplan and conceptual design for the museum, one of the state's most popular cultural attractions.
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. Image Courtesy of Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, Photo by Robert Christopher
The team of Snøhetta (design architect), Clark Nexsen (architect-of-record) and brightspot strategy (community engagement and space programming) has been selected to design the new Main Building for the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina.
The team will work to incorporate the creative vision created by the library and its community through a multi-year planning process. Envisioned as a “public commons,” the building will aimed at becoming a catalyst for urban revitalization, becoming a new hub of culture, education and community connection for the city.
Artist and photographer Rob Carter shared with us a video in which, through montages and digital collages, shows the urban growth of the city of Charlotte, in the state of North Carolina, USA. The video, titled Metropolis, is "an abbreviated city narrative [...] that uses stop-motion animation to physically manipulate aerial imagery, creating a landscape in constant motion."
Charlotte is one of the fastest growing cities in the US and Carter's production features the changes that have taken place in recent years in its central region. Verticality and density of buildings (not necessarily people) continue to mark the urbanization of the city.
Mario Botta: Architecture and Memory is an exhibition spanning the 50-year career of internationally acclaimed architect Mario Botta, the designer of the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art building and one of the century's most fundamental contributors to postmodern architecture.
The people have spoken: UNC Charlotte’s 2013 Solar Decathlon entry, UrbanEden has won the “People’s Choice Award.” Designed as an urban infill project for a couple in Charlotte, North Carolina, the net-zero solar-powered home defines itself by establishing a strong indoor and outdoor connection in the middle of the city. By enclosing the back deck with a seven-foot tall vertical garden and integrating a high-performance glass wall along the home’s south side, dwellers are presented with the unlikely option of privately enjoying the outdoors within a dense urban context.
The RA-50 proposal for the HOME Competition, designed by in situ studio and David Hill, AIA, focuses on building density through alleyway living. By assessing each existing residential parcel in the city of Raleigh, it was apparent that most downtown parcels are larger than the current zoning requirements and will be even larger proportionally once the new UDO is ratified. Therefore, their proposal establishes a new zone within the UDO – alley residential, or RA-50. This new zone would be allowed in any block that is bisected by an existing or potential alleyway and where lots backing up to the alleyways have a surplus of land to shave away and form new, smaller lots that could front the alleyway. More images and architects’ description after the break.
North Carolina State University’s School of Architecture recently launched their Fall 2012 lecture series which focuses on “Material | Digital.” The series begins September 24th with Grace La of La Dallman. Featuring other keynote speakers throughout the series, it concludes on November 19th with a local practitioner panel. For more information, please visit their website here.
Public voting started this past week and will go on until July 22 for the inaugural George Matsumoto Prize for North Carolina Modernist residential design, a unique architecture competition sponsored by nonprofit Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH).
The ReSpace Design Competition: ‘You Design It! We Build It!’, which focuses on small space design, green building, and sustainability, is currently accepting entries. They are on the hunt for talented architects, artists, builders, and dreamers with a knack for innovation. The challenge: Design a small, unique, and transportable structure that can be built with reuse materials. The grand prize winner receives $1,000 and a chance to see their design come to life. The winning design will be constructed in a 48 hour build overseen by Habitat for Humanity Wake County using materials from their Raleigh, North Carolina ReStore. A total of $3,000 in awards will be presented to multiple winners. Registration ends June 15 with the deadline of submissions August 15. For more information, please visit here.
A nationally recognized leader in modern, sustainable, regionally appropriate architecture, Frank Harmon, FAIA, principal of the multi-award-winning architecture firm Frank Harmon Architect PA in Raleigh, NC, will present a talk entitled “How Architects and Landscape Architects Can Work Together” during the North Carolina chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects’ (NCASLA)2012 Spring Conference. Harmon, will discuss the urban and rural landscape, how architecture fits into it, and how architects and landscape architects can combine efforts “to leave the landscape better than we found it”. His talk will take place Friday, June 15, from 3:15-4:15 p.m. More information on the event after the break.
