Taking place June 21-25 at Ajman University of Science & Technology, is a 5-day architectural workshop by the internationally renowned architect Tom Wiscombe. The title of the workshop is: “Nested Figures and Loose Outer Shells.” For more information and registration please contact workshop coordinator Dr. Jihad Awad: dr_jihadaa@yahoo.com, j.awad@ajman.ac.ae
Designed by Gartnerfuglen Arkitekter, the small shelter for ice fishing, titled ‘Noun.1 Unavailability’, is built with and by nature. The timber frame is foldable for easy relocation and storage, and is effortlessly put up anywhere by one (or two small) persons in 30 seconds. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Organized by RCR Arquitectes and the Bunka Foundation, this year’s course, which takes place August 4-31, offers the architectural point of view of RCR Arquitectes, with the architects’ monitoring of the projects produced in the workshop and guided tours throughout their built work. This course will be complemented with conferences given by prestigious guests combining architecture, landscape and other related issues (Josep Maria Montaner, Hisao Suzuki, Carme Pigem, amongst others). Participants will live an intense experience during one month in which creativity and humanism will trace the main axes of the course, in order to achieve a complete and high standard result and understanding of an architectural Project. More information after the break.
Designed by the Austrian architecture office soma for EXPO 2012, the Thematic Pavilion dubbed One Ocean will celebrate it’s grand opening tomorrow (May 11) in Yeosu, South-Korea. Since winning first prize in an open international competition in 2009, One Ocean has captured the attention of the international community with its gill-like kinetic façade and sustainable climate design.
Continue reading after the break for more images and information.
Architects: Murphy/Jahn Location: Düsseldorf, Germany Completion: 2010 Height: 70M Area: 14,625sqm Photographs: Courtesy of Murphy/Jahn
One week from today, ArchDaily will be joining you at the AIA 2012 National Convention! Knowledge, inspiration and connection are the three primary reasons architects are attending this year’s convention. In just three days (May 17-19), you can fulfill your annual Learning Units with nearly 200 education sessions, gain insight on the latest products and technologies at the Design Expo, and expand your professional network with the opportunity of meeting thousands of architects from around the country. Also, with AIA DC as your host, you will have the opportunity to explore the highlights of our nation’s capitol with a number of exclusive tours.
Continue after the break to learn more!
Architects: Dominique Perrault Architecture Location: Parque de la Arganzuela, Madrid, Spain Engineering: MC2 – Julio Martínez Calzón (stucture) / TYPSA (mechanical engineering) Built area: Footbridge 150 m (section 1) 128 m (section 2) length, 5 to 12 m width Completion: 2010 Photographs: Georges Fessy, Ayuntamiento de Madrid
Although competitions are fraught with their own issues, our profession is indelibly linked to them. Competitions have been pushing the profession forward for centuries, encouraging innovation, creativity and inspiring many. They have given emerging professionals their “big break” (think Maya Lin) and have showered the world with many important, game-changing masterpieces (Rolex Learning Center, Pompidou Center, Brunelleschi’s dome, the Acropolis…). As expected, the end result of a competition typically dominates the conversation; however, it is interesting to discuss process of competition making.
SOLID architecture is a firm that relies heavily on competitions, as they have received most of their commissions by winning a competition. They have shared with us their top ten ideas and observations on the process of competition making in hopes that it will spark a dialogue on the topic. As you can see above, the first on their list is “change the medium”. Continue reading after the break to review the complete list and join the conversation.
After showing two groups of schoolteachers a videotape of an eight-year-old boy, psychologists John Santrock and Russel Tracy found that the teachers’ judgment of the child ultimately depended on whether they had been told the child came from a divorced home or an intact home. The child was rated as less well-adjusted if the teachers thought he came from a home where the parents were divorced. This finding might seem inconsequential to the field of architecture, but for a profession that often relies on observational studies to evaluate a design’s effect on its users I argue that Santrock and Tracy’s study is one among many architects need to pay attention to.
An observational study*, like post-occupancy surveys, is a common method architects use to evaluate a design’s effect on its users. If done well observational studies can provide a wealth of valuable and reliable information. They do, however, have their pitfalls, most notably controlling for cognitive and selection biases. At the risk of limiting readership, I will illustrate these challenges by reviewing a specific observational study dealing with autism design. Although specific, the following example wrestles with the same difficulties that other observational studies in architecture wrestle with.
Yasuaki Onishi, who is known for his art throughout Japan and internationally, currently has an installation on exhibit in the Rice Gallery in Houston titled, ‘Reverse of Volume RG’. On display until June 24, he uses plastic sheeting and black hot glue to create a monumental, mountainous form that appears to float in space. In using these simple materials, he is able to successfully meditate on the nature of the negative space, or void, left behind. More images and project description after the break.
“Pop-Up,” “DIY,” “Kickstarter” “LQC” (That’s lighter, quicker, cheaper for the unfamiliar). Urbanisms of the People have been getting awfully catch-phrasey these days. What all these types of DIY Urbanisms share is a can-do spirit, a “Hacker” mentality: people are taking back their cities, without any “expert” help.
Unfortunately, of course, this mindset creates an anti-establishment (often, anti-architect) antagonism that would render any wide-spread change nigh impossible. Yes, the DIY movement, facilitated by the use of technology, is excellent for getting people involved, for encouraging important, innovative ideas – in the short-term.
As Alexandra Lange recently pointed out in her post “Against Kickstarter Urbanism,” technology is not a “magic wand,” and crowdsourcing initiatives often fall short in the day-to-day, nitty-gritty work of a large-scale, long-term urban project.
But while technology certainly has its limitations, its potential to facilitate connection and communication is unparalleled. What is vital, however, is that the technology enhance, not replace, our physical relationships. Instead of using online platforms as divisive or purely conceptual forums, they must becomes tools of transparency and trust-building, mediators of a conversation that invests and connects all parties on the ground.
Kokaistudios was recently announced as the winner of the competition for the new Tsinghua University Law Library located in Beijing, China. Proposing a reflection on the role of void in structuring functions and programs within the building, their design also defines, at the same time, its relations within its surroundings. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Hosted by Topos Magazine, the ‘Follow Me: Berlin’s Airport’ Conference will be taking place in the disused buildings of Tempelhof Airport on June 5. A number of prominent European Architects, Urban Designers & Landscape Architects will be giving lectures / presentations on the re-appropriation of redundant airports. What role will this new airport on the fringes of Berlin play in the development of the city into the future? What will become of Tempelhof, Tegel & Gatow? The Topos Landscape Award will also be presented. Tours of Tempelhof will be offered on the following day. For more detailed information on the event, please visit here.
Sunglass, built by two TED fellows, Nitin Rao and Kaustuv DeBiswas, is a collection of three products: the company’s Sunglass Player, which allows artists to incorporate the objects that they’ve created with the software into other web services like Behance. The player is fully interactive, allowing someone to rotate, flip, and scale the model that they’re currently building, through their mouse and, again, without Flash installed. At a time when Autodesk’s AutoCAD suite of software, costs upwards of $5,000 for a single copy and feels clunky on most machines, Sunglass brings some true innovation to the drawing table.
Liz Diller, founding principle of Diller, Scofidio + Renfro, shares the story of creating the pneumatic addition to the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC. Commonly known as the “Bubble”, the inflatable event space is planned for the cylindrical courtyard of the National Mall’s modernist museum that was originally designed by Gordon Bunshaft in 1974. The first inflation of the “Bubble” is expected to take place at the end of 2013.
“To truly make good public space, you have to erase the distinctions between architecture, urbanism, landscape, media design.” – Liz Diller
Announced today on his 75th birthday, Spanish Architect Rafael Moneo has been named winner of the prestigious Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts – an award bestowed to an individual, institution or group of individuals or institutions whose work in Cinematography, Theatre, Dance, Music, Photography, Painting, Sculpture, Architecture or any other form of artistic expression constitutes a significant contribution to Mankind’s culture heritage.
As the 32nd laureate, Rafael Moneo is the fifth architect who has received this award, following Oscar Niemeyer in 1989, Santiago Calatrava in 1999, Franciscco Javier Sáenz de Oíza in 1993 and Lord Foster in 2009.
Continue after the break for more.
Today, Cornell University has announced their selection of Thom Mayne and Morphosis to design the first academic building for the CornellNYC Tech campus on Roosevelt Island. Mayor Michael Bloomberg awarded the Roosevelt Island campus project to Cornell mid-December of last year. With plans to achieve net-zero, the campus is striving to become the new modern prototype for learning spaces worldwide.
“This project represents an extraordinary opportunity to explore the intersection of three territories: environmental performance, rethinking the academic workspace and the unique urban condition of Roosevelt Island,” Mayne said, as reported by Cornell University. “This nexus offers tremendous opportunities not only for CornellNYC Tech, but also for New York City.”
Continue reading for more.
A few weeks ago, appearing on the heels of a Salon article by Scott Timberg, entitled, “The Architecture Meltdown”, GOOD Magazine published “Why ‘The Death of Architecture’ May Not Be Such a Bad Thing”. Penned by public interest advocate and writer, John Cary, the article offered a provocative corrective for architecture in the Great Recession. In fact, it seemed written for the purpose of provocation rather than offering real solutions.
The article, which I will break down by borrowing the language of Buddhism, conveyed Four Noble Truths: Architecture is suffering, There is a way to end the suffering, The way to end the suffering is to follow a new path, and The path is the “emergent” field of public interest design. This is how architecture can rise above the “meltdown” and save itself and the world.
Sounds simple enough, right? Let’s do it!
Driven by the collaboration of Quicksand Design Studio, Jameel Poverty Action Lab, the city governments of two large cities in India, and supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), Project Sammaan is a development project that seeks to create improved sanitation services for the urban poor residing in slums in India. The challenge seeks to discover radical ideas and new perspectives that will help us in our attempt to reinvent low-cost urban sanitation. The goals is to design and build 119 sanitation facilities in urban slums in India. Collectively, these facilities will have 1200+ toilets, bathrooms, spaces for washing clothes, and will benefit 60,000+ people. The project started in February 2012 and will last for 16-19 months at the end of which these toilets will be operational. The deadline for submissions is May 15. For more detailed information, please visit here.
We recently shared six conceptual visions for the transformation of Los Angeles’ Union Station. Upon the release of the vision boards, the team’s proposals (EE&K, a Perkins Eastman Company, in association with UNStudio; IBI Group with Foster+Partners; Grimshaw with Gruen; Moore Ruble Yudell Architects and Planners, with Ten Arquitectos and West 8; NBBJ with Ingenhoven Architects; and Renzo Piano Building Workshop with Parsons Transportation Group Inc.) sparked much public interest. As we reported earlier, the Metro staff will recommend a winner to the Metro board on June 28th, but in the meantime, we’d like to share a closer look at some of the proposals.
UNStudio’s proposal with EE&K imagines Union Station as a multi-modal transit hub filled with mixed use development and outdoor spaces. The conceptual vision board explores possibilities for the station and its surrounding areas, highlighting a key integration of transportation and outdoor park spaces with its “green loop” strategy.
More about the vision board after the break.
Taking place May 12 from 1oam-4pm, the Marin Living: Home Tours, hosted by AIA San Francisco, is an open house tour featuring five projects that showcase and celebrate the richness of our local built environment in hopes of engaging the general public about the value of good design and its impact on our daily lives. Now in its third year, Marin Living: Home Tours offers an inside look at the wealth of great design in our region. Tour-goers will have the opportunity to explore cutting-edge residential projects in Sausalito, Mill Valley and San Rafael, meet design teams, and discover innovative design solutions. Featured projects exhibit sustainable features, innovative use of materials and thoughtful integration with the neighborhood and surrounding landscape. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit here.
Aedas recently won 8 prestigious awards at the Asia Pacific Property Awards presentation ceremony, which was held on April 28 in Kuala Lumpur. Center 66 from Hang Lung Properties, a mixed use development of 376,800 sqm straddling across two sites conjoined by a public plaza hosting a cluster of heritage buildings in Wuxi, PRC, won “5 Star Award, Best Mixed Use Architecture for China”, and subsequently won “Best Mixed Use Architecture Award for Asia Pacific”. More information on their awards after the break.
One of the most prominent architectural event in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Days of Architecture, which takes place May 10-13, includes different lectures held by local and international architects, exhibitions, movie screenings etc. The topic for Days of Architecture 2012 -City(and)conscience, aims at questioning the cities of today, not only by the experts, but the broader audience too. “Urban Farmers”, “Informal Cities”, “Social sustainability”, “Green City and mobility” are some of the topics to be discussed by architects from different parts of the world, while presenting contemporary processes, projects and approaches in practice. More information on the event after the break.
