Videos

In the latest Tokyo National Stadium news, Kengo Kuma is firing back to Zaha Hadid's allegations regarding the "similarities" of the two designs by insisting that his "concept is completely different." As reported the Architects' Journal, the Japanese architect agrees there are some natural similarities due to appropriate sightlines and regulations, however the actual design and concept are radically different.

"I believe that the design by Zaha Hadid was excellent, with a unique shape and demonstration of her philosophy," said Kuma in a press conference. "When we consider the design is being created within the same land, using the same tracks and under the same laws it is natural and almost automatic that there are some similarities which will arise."

"And despite the technical details being similar, the concepts and designs are completely different," he added, referring to Hadid's "saddle-style" design and his flat-roofed proposal. 

The Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, California, has been selected for the 2016 American Institute of Architects' (AIA) Twenty-five Year Award. Designed by EHDD of San Francisco, and completed in 1984, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is a "light-filled ensemble of diverse spaces, unique among aquariums in its interweaving of indoors and out," says the AIA. The award is presented yearly to a project that has "stood the test of time by embodying architectural excellence for 25 to 35 years."

London is the latest city to host one of Janet Echelman's stunning net sculptures. Suspended 180 feet above Oxford Circus, the city's busiest intersections, the colorful floating form was inspired by 1.8 - "the length of time in microseconds that the earth’s day was shortened" as a result of Japan's devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

"The sculpture’s form was inspired by data sets of the tsunami’s wave heights rippling across the entire Pacific Ocean," says the studio. "The artwork delves into content related to our complex interdependencies with larger cycles of time and our physical world. The sculpture’s net structure is a physical manifestation of interconnectedness – when any one element moves, every other element is affected."

An international architecture competition has been launched, asking for ideas to build a traveling Charlie Hebdo Portable Pavilion that exhibits the company's works in the name of free speech. Up to $10,000 in prizes will be awarded to three winning proposals and six honorable mentions. All are welcome to participate. Registration will close March 9. You can read on for more information.

Videos

Hyperloop Technologies is starting to realize its high-speed transit system. As Tech.Mic reports, pipes for the project's first test tube are showing up in Nevada. Hyperloop was first outlined by Elon Musk in 2013 as a response to California's pricey bullet train plan that aim to connect Los Angeles to San Francisco. The ultra-fast, energy efficient Hyperloop proposes to send pods of people through a depressurized tube at speeds up to 700 miles-per-hour. It is believed that the new system could be running as soon as 2020.

Louis Kahn's Richards Medical Research Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania, once deemed "the most consequential building constructed in the United States" since World War II by MoMA, has been notoriously hated by its users; scientists claim the building lacks privacy, has too much exposure to sunlight and is not suitable for lab experiments. Thus, the University's architect has just completed a full renovation of Richards' four brick towers, converting them into offices and computer labs for researchers, while, as Philly.com reports, restoring the structure to its original essence.

"The renovation has pared Kahn's spaces down to their essence, restoring a Zenlike calm, and revealing the muscular concrete structure that made the design such a revelation in the early 1960s, when International Style glass towers were all the rage," says Philly.com. Read the complete article here.

Alongside a series of 2016 proposals, including the plans to transform Penn Station, Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that New York will be expanding its Jacob K. Javits Convention Center - the busiest convention center in the US. Originally designed by James Ingo Freed of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners in 1986, the structure has undergone a number of renovations since; this time, it will be expanded by 1.2 million-square-feet, totaling 3.3 million-square-feet, with the addition of "the largest ballroom in the Northeast," new exhibition space, a four-level truck garage, and a 34,000-square-foot solar array.

Check out this beautifully crafted 13-piece block set designed by Kengo Kuma - the (legendary) Japanese architect recently tapped to design Tokyo's controversial National Stadium. Light, wooden and soft to the touch, each four by four inch component is made of cedar from Japan's Miyazaki Prefecture and notched at the tips for easy stacking. You can order your own set for $70.

Henning Larsen Architects has been selected to design the new Lindner College of Business for the University of Cincinnati - the Danish firm's first project in the US. Though renderings have yet to be released, the building is expected to "reflects Scandinavian design traditions of putting people, space, and daylight first."

“Physical surroundings and educational achievements are not separate—they're interdependent. A successful educational building also enriches its users, fosters community and improves the daily lives of students and teachers. Our design will give shape to Lindner College of Business’ strong identity and be the catalyst to further its reputation and academic achievements,” said Louis Becker, Principal Partner, Design Director of Henning Larsen Architects and Professor (Adj.) at Aalborg University. Research suggests that students attain 5-14% higher scores on tests taken in rooms with good daylight conditions.

Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) has released plans for a 25-story residential tower in New York. Dubbed the "SoHo Tower," the new skyscraper will be rise on a vacant lot at the western edge of the city's Soho district between Broome and Watts Street. It will be comprised of 115 apartments, a fitness center, swimming pool and automated parking, grounded by street level commercial units.

"The fragmented building massing, detail and materiality reinforce the human scale of this project within the scale of the city," says the architects. 

Governor Andrew Cuomo has laid out plans to transform New York's congested Pennsylvania Station and neighboring James A. Farley Post Office into a world-class transportation hub. Penn Station, North America's busiest train station, was originally designed in 1910 to accommodate 200,000; currently it's serving more than 650,000 passengers each day. Though a number of firms have been enlisted in the past to re-imagine the station, the project's developer has yet to chose an official architect.

“Penn Station is the heart of New York’s economy and transportation network, but it has been outdated, overcrowded, and unworthy of the Empire State for far too long,” said Governor Cuomo. “We want to build Penn Station to be better than it ever was, and that is exactly what we are going to do. This proposal will fundamentally transform Penn Station for the 21st century, and we are excited to move forward with the project in the days to come.”

BIG has revealed plans for a new Wilson Secondary School in Arlington, Virginia. The five-story school, designed to feel more like a single story building, features a pivoting stack of classroom "bars" fanning across the site. By rotating the bars, BIG expands the school's available open space, creating a series of outdoor terraces that connect directly to each classroom. Beneath the "bars," cavities are occupied by a gymnasium, auditorium and administration space, as well as additional public green areas.

"The new Wilson Secondary School expands and relocates two existing county-wide secondary programs in a new building. Located in a dense urban context along Arlington’s urban Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor, the school is designed across multiple levels in order to maintain open green space for recreation," says BIG.

Cyprus designer Stelios Mousarris has designed a cantilevering wood and steel table inspired by the Christopher Nolan thriller Inception. The "Wave City Coffee Table," as it's known, was designed based on the movie's scene where the power to bend dreams according to the dream architect’s will is demonstrated, according to Bored Panda.

Mousarris, once a model maker for Fosters and Partners and an assistant designer at Duffy London, is making a name for himself by designing unique furniture for his self-titled design company Moussaris.

Carmody Groarke has won a competition to design the Victoria & Albert (V&A) Museum's new £1.3 million members' room in London. The practice, selected over a shortlist that included David Kohn Architects, Ordinary Architecture, SHH and Universal Design Studio, is offering a design that is "loose, relaxed" and "conversational" for members in a new space on the museum's fourth floor that overlooks the courtyard.

“We are delighted with the quality of the architects’ submissions," said V&A senior staff member David Bickle. "Carmody Groarke’s proposal created a stage not the performance, responding to our brief and the heritage of the Museum in a loose, relaxed, conversational way, creating a comfortable room for the Museum’s broad member constituencies and a framework for creative programming."