Videos: The Latest Architecture and News

The highly anticipated “Twilight Epiphany” Skyspace, designed by American artist James Turrell, will open to the public today with a sunset light show. The abstract pyramidal structure complements the natural light present at sunrise and sunset, creating a mesmerizing light show that connects the beauty of the natural world with the surrounding campus. This experience is enhanced by an LED light performance that projects onto the 72-by-72-foot thin white roof, which offers views to the sky through a 14-by-14-foot opening. Additionally, the Turrell Skyspace is acoustically engineered for musical performances and serves as a laboratory for music school students, as it stands adjacent to the Shepher School of Music on the Rice University campus in Houston, Texas.

David Leebron, Rice University President: “The campus has to play its role in inspiring our students.”

Continue after the break to watch a sneak preview of the Turrell Skyspace light show.

The ‘Sur Mesure’ Sticker Installation, designed by FREAKS freearchitects, was placed onto the facade of Oscar Niemeyer’s Building for French Communist Party Headquarters in Paris this past December. Known forNiemeyer’s simple construction without ornament, the installation creates a simple, yet interesting addition to the building for people around the city. Completed in the early 1980′s, the intention of letting it “breathe” to the city and not break the site generates an open space district with its undulating forms. This then mirrors the continuity of the urban fabric of the neighborhood and frames the plaza. The video shows the process of installing the immense sticker onto the facade. More images of the installation can be viewed after the break.

Quite possibly the most well-loved architect of our time, Frank Lloyd Wright was known for his “organic” architecture that harmonized with its surroundings (See the AD Classic: Fallingwater House). He would have turned 145 today.

The above video, filmed and edited by DUOSEGNO Visual Design, features a look into the new Careggi entrance in Florence, designed by Ipostudio which becomes the ‘gateway’ to the hospital campus as it acts as both an urban junction as well as an architectural presence. The new entrance does not just function as a door to get inside, but is an area for strolling, for spontaneous interaction, and a place which represents the intricacy of the largest hospital development in all of central Italy. Through a new ‘square’, a new archway for Florence, this covered plaza, which draws inspiration from the grand urban traditions of the Florentine porticos, allows for this to happen.

Remember the “Cosmic Quilt” kickstarter campaign we published a few weeks ago? Well, it was a success! With the help 20 students from the Art Institute of New York, The Principals were able to construct a reactive architectural environment just in time for the New York Design Week that took place May 19-21.

Continue after the break for more.

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Enjoy this interesting footage captured by Tomas Koolhaas – son of Rem Koolhaas – in February 2012 of the recently completed China Central Television (CCTV) Headquarters in Beijing. The monumental structure took eight years to complete and is OMA‘s first major building in China, as well as their largest project to date. The building is planned for occupancy later this year to broadcast the London 2012 Olympics. Check out our previous coverage for more building information.

Continue after the break to view a short clip inside the CCTV building during construction!

We stumbled across this fantastic video, by Mindrelic on Vimeo, capturing the endless movement of Manhattan. The maker behind Mindrelic spent a little over a month hotel hopping around Manhattan to shoot this time lapse. I was particularly mesmerized by the constant play of light and shadow throughout the entire city. Enjoy!

The AIA sat down with famed architect Frank Gehry - recipient of the 2012 Twenty-five Year Award - to discuss his eccentric Santa Monica home that has enormously influenced both theory and practice over the last 25 to 35 years. In the late 1970s, Frank Gehry transformed an existing Dutch colonial home in a quiet Southern California neighborhood into a controversial symbol of deconstructivism by surrounding it with an unconventional new addition. As the AIA describes, “The exposed structure, chaotic fusion of disparate materials, and aggressive juxtaposition of old and new communicate a sense of real-time formal evolution and conflict, as if the building were dynamically, violently creating itself with found objects.”

During the launch of the META Project in Chile, we had the chance to interview Bijoy Jain, founder of Studio Mumbai.

AIA President Jeff Potter welcomed everyone this morning by restating his promise that the 2012 convention would inspire all who attend. With a consistent theme focusing on the architects commitment to service, President Potter welcomed Shaun Donovan – the 15th United States Secretary for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) – as today’s keynote speaker. However, before Secretary Donovan took the stage, the 2012 AIA Vice President and 2013 President-elect Mickey Jacob invited the crowd to come, stay and explore the mile-high city of Denver for the 2013 National Convention.

In honor of One World Trade Center becoming the tallest building in New York, EarthCam has released an exciting time-lapse movie showcasing the construction progress from 2004-2012. In just a couple minutes, you can witness years of construction. Not only is the process a moving one on an emotional level, but also sheds hope on a site that holds such strong meaning in the U.S. for a time in history that will never be forgotten.