Construction broke ground on the Wendelstrand residential development that will transform an old quarry outside Gothenburg into an environmentally friendly and socially sustainable neighbourhood. Developed by Next Step Group and designed by Snøhetta and White Arkitekter, together with Tham & Videgård, Andreas Martin-Löf Architects and Liljewall, the project will feature 1000 homes of various typologies and a series of amenities. The first stage of the development debuts with the Snøhetta-designed Lakehouse, a communal building that blends with the landscape.
Architecture News
Snøhetta and White Arkitekter Transform an Old Quarry in Sweden into a Sustainable Residential Development
The Spanish Government Approves the Law on Quality in Architecture
How can the quality of architecture be protected, promoted and encouraged? A question on which progress was made today in Spain. On the 18th of January, the Council of Ministers approved the Draft Law on Quality in Architecture for its subsequent submission to the Spanish Parliament, thus initiating its parliamentary procedure.
This is a new legislative proposal, promoted by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, currently under the direction of Minister Raquel Sánchez Jiménez, who aims to protect, promote and encourage architectural quality as an asset of general interest, promoting links that encourage the rapprochement of architecture with society.
Chile’s Pavilion at the Venice Biennial 2021 Arrives at Santiago’s Museum of Contemporary Art
Testimonial Spaces, the theme of Chile's pavilion at the recent Venice Biennial 2021, opened to the public on the 18th of January at Santiago's Museum of Contemporary Art.
Curated by architects Emilio Marín and Rodrigo Sepúlveda, Testimonial Spaces brings together 525 paintings based on testimonies and everyday stories from the José María Caro neighbourhood in Santiago, in line with "How will we live together?", the theme of the biennial curated by Lebanese architect Hashim Sarkis.
The Graphic Novel as Architectural Narrative: Berlin and Aya
The comic strip, la bande dessinée, the graphic novel. These are all part of a medium with an intrinsic connection to architectural storytelling. It’s a medium that has long been used to fantasise and speculate on possible architectural futures, or in a less spectacular context, used as a device to simply show the perspectival journey through an architectural project. When the comic strip meshes fiction with architectural imagination, however, it’s not only the speculation on future architectural scenarios that takes place. It’s also the recording and the critiquing of the urban conditions of either our contemporary cities or the cities of the past.
New Two World Trade Center Renders Reveal a Mirrored Revamp
Is the third time truly the charm for Two World Trade Center? New renderings spotted by New York YIMBY on February 1 seem to reveal the long-delayed tower’s new look, a marked departure from what was first unveiled by Foster + Partners back in 2005.
That’s not too much of a surprise. Although Foster + Partners was awarded the project 17 years ago and the foundation was laid in 2013, work has been proceeding at a slow clip and the original team was replaced by BIG in 2015 after developer Silverstein Properties decided to take a more contemporary approach and position the tower as the future home of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation and 21st Century Fox.
The Value of Integrated BIM Project Information
For many design teams, logging into multiple applications a day to access BIM information is the norm. Yet the information contained in each of these applications tends to be siloed, making it difficult for project teams to make informed decisions, collaborate, and share information.
The Second Studio Podcast: Interview with Sarah Whiting
The Second Studio (formerly The Midnight Charette) is an explicit podcast about design, architecture, and the everyday. Hosted by Architects David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet, it features different creative professionals in unscripted conversations that allow for thoughtful takes and personal discussions.
A variety of subjects are covered with honesty and humor: some episodes are interviews, while others are tips for fellow designers, reviews of buildings and other projects, or casual explorations of everyday life and design. The Second Studio is also available on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube.
This week, David and Marina are joined by Sarah Whiting, Dean and Josep Lluís Sert Professor of Architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design; Co-Founder of WW Architecture to discuss her early interests in architecture, communicating the value of architecture to the public, the GSD, social and environmental issues in architecture, the future of architecture practice, movements in architecture, and more.
Are Buildings Alive?
This video explores the case for understanding buildings as non-human creatures. While this might sound absurd at first, the concept has a long history and potentially very positive tangible outcomes. Buildings need to be cultivated like a garden; they require maintenance and care. If they are alive, the need for this care becomes more obvious and second nature. This conceit also prompts us to empathize with the people that conceived of and built the building, treating the human labor of its construction with admiration and reverie.
Paul Clemence Captures Miami's Tallest Residential Building, the Elysee Edgewater by Arquitectonica
Miami’s long-awaited landmark, the Elysee Edgewater has finally reached construction completion. Designed by Arquitectonica, the 649-foot-tall glass tower features 57 storeys of luxury residences, as well as recreational and fitness amenities across its tiered floors. Architectural photographer Paul Clemence released images of the newly-completed tower, which now sits as the tallest residential building in the Edgewater district.
Winy Maas and Theobert van Boven Lead the Transformation of Their Former High School
MVRDV founding partner Winy Maas and Theobert van Boven of Van Boven Architecten, two alumni of Gymnasium Beekvliet, are leading the transformation of their former highschool in the Dutch village of Sint-Michielsgestel. In addition to the renovation of the existing building, the design features a flowing, colourful extension accommodating a new auditorium, as well as art and culture facilities providing students with an engaging learning environment. The new structure features a printed façade showcasing artwork by Canadian visual artist Ian Kirkpatrick that provides a record of the school's 200 years of history while creating a new focal point for the school and region.
Interior Design: 33 Restaurants in Mexico That Stimulate the User's Experience
Over the years, interior design has evolved according to the needs that arise, but above all to the experiences that it seeks to provoke in the user. In the last two years, we have witnessed a radical change and a special interest in this subject because the pandemic forced us to pay specific attention to the configuration of the places we inhabit. This brought about much more holistic designs that cater to the wellbeing of the user, combining colours, sensory experiences, technology and natural elements that promote health.
450 Years of Houses in the United States
The history of architecture is made up of demographic, cultural, and social changes. In its relatively short history, American architecture has evolved with changes in the country, representing the catalog of various cultural influences that make up the United States as a whole. Many elements of American home design have remained intact over the past 450 years, reflecting longstanding American traditions and values that have stood the test of time.
Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games: Discover the Full List of Projects
Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games and Paralympic Games have officially opened on February 4, 2022. The Winter Olympics made a brave move by adding two snow zones in Zhangjiakou and Yanqing to the ice zone in Beijing, creating an unprecedented three-zone system for the Winter Olympics.
Architectural Design & Research Institute of Tsinghua University (THAD), has led the planning and architectural design of the whole and all venues in Zhangjiakou Zone and Shougang Venue in Beijing Zone. Planning and Venue design for Yanqing Zone was elaborated by the China Architectural Design & Research Group. Chinese architects took the initiative to create while serving the principle of sustainable development and closely integrating architectural planning methodologies and architectural design during the approximately six-year construction cycle. They proposed the design framework of "full-scale spatial intervention" based on the "General Plan, Regulatory Plan, Urban Design, Architecture Design and Equipment System Design," completing the Chinese practice of sustainable Winter Olympics.
Why the Drawings of Louis Kahn Still Matter
This article was originally published on Common Edge.
In an age of ebooks and web-first publishing, Louis Kahn: The Importance of a Drawing (Lars Müller Publishers) is a defiant throwback: a lavish, 500-plus-page book, very much an object befitting its subject, whose buildings had a weight, both literal and figurative, that was part of their power and appeal. Conceived and edited by Michael Merrill, the book is both a deep examination of Kahn’s creative process, as told through the medium of the hand drawing, as well as a revealing portrait of the man behind those buildings and illustrations. Merrill is an architect and educator and currently serves as director of research at the Institute for Building Typology at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany. He’s also the author of two previous books on the master architect, Louis Kahn: Drawing to Find Out and Louis Kahn: On the Thoughtful Making of Spaces.
Chicago-Based Artist Theaster Gates Reveals Design for the 2022 Serpentine Pavilion
American artist Theaster Gates unveiled his design for the 21st Serpentine Pavilion. Curated for the first time by a non-architect, the 2022 edition named Black Chapel, “will pay homage to British craft and manufacturing traditions”. Realized with the architectural support of Adjaye Associates, the pavilion will open to the public on Friday 10 June 2022, in Kensington Gardens.
Christo's Biggest and Only Permanent Artwork Is Designed for Abu Dhabi's Desert
Conceived in 1977, and currently, in progress, The Mastaba, Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s largest permanent artwork in the world, is designed for Abu Dhabi, to be built in a proposed location approximately 160 kilometers south of the city in the desert of Liwa, in the United Arab Emirates. Made from 410,000 multi-colored barrels, the installation will create “a colorful mosaic, echoing Islamic architecture”. 150 meters high, 300 meters long at the vertical walls and 225 meters wide at the 60 degrees slanted walls, the duo’s final project will take at least three years to be built, once it receives governmental approval.
Grimshaw's Eden Project North in Lancashire Receives Planning Approval
After unveiling the Eden Project North back in 2018, Grimshaw Architects has finally received planning permission from Lancaster City Council to begin constructing its Morecambe attraction. The new addition to the Eden Project series will focus on reimaging health and wellbeing by taking inspiration from the landscape of Morecambe Bay, a natural estuary south of the Lake District. Similar to the rest of the attractions, a series of shell-like structures will host the main exhibition and recreational spaces.
Bernard Tschumi Architects Designs New Addition for Parc de la Villette
Bernard Tschumi's HyperTent, a hyperbolic paraboloid structure, is the latest addition to the iconic Parc de la Villette. Prompted by the opening of L'Espace Chapiteaux, a space for contemporary circus performances, the new ticket booth located on the podium of Folie L4, originally a music venue, carefully negotiates its presence within the context. The morphology of the project allows for the two structures to coexist without interfering. At the same time, the materiality of the HyperTent makes for an iconic presence in juxtaposition with the adjacent folie.
Architecture Beyond Design: Getting to Know BLOCO Arquitetos’ Work
Each project can be a powerful context transformation tool. This is one of the conceptual bases of BLOCO Arquitetos, founded by Daniel Mangabeira, Henrique Coutinho and Matheus Seco. Based in Brasília, the Brazilian capital and a symbol of modern architecture worldwide, the office works at different scales and programs, and is characterized by its multidisciplinary work that encompasses initiatives to value Brazilian architectural culture and the profession itself.