Considering our present time, the COVID-19 pandemic will likely have a lasting influence on the next era of building and design, shaping how we build at every phase, including design, materials, and building protocols. We may see architects and engineers continue to work remotely, reviewing designs and specifications virtually. Manufacturers may have to space production areas farther apart or even rely on more automation.
Architectural photographer Paul Clemence has released a new photoseries of the newly-opened Kunsthaus Zürich Museum Extension designed by David Chipperfield Architects. The extension is a freestanding addition to the existing Kunsthaus museum, and houses a collection of classic modernist artwork, the Bührle collection, and temporary exhibitions. The architectural identity takes inspiration from traditional stone façades found on the existing Kunsthaus as well as other significant public buildings in the Swiss city, and combines tradition and innovation through slender vertical fins crafted from local Jurassic limestone.
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) announced Kingston University London Town House designed by Grafton Architects as the 2021 RIBA Stirling Prize winner. The distinction recognizes the projects’ progressive approach to the educational program, crafting a democratic, open space that fosters appropriation and social cohesion. The design resulting from a 2013 RIBA Competition is the Pritzker laureates Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara’s first project in the UK.
The Garage Museum of Contemporary Art has announced the winning design for the 2022 summer cinema. Selected from 118 applications, the proposal created by Moscow-based practice LIPMAN ARCHITECTS (Dmitry Limpan, Angelina Yashkevich, Maria Oganian) features gabion walls filled with plastic water bottles, inviting conversation around topics such as material recycling and the environmental impact of temporary architecture.
Creative agency Accept & Proceed has designed a new basketball court for Nike using 20,000 recycled sneakers in New Belgrade, Serbia. Inspired by the ‘Move to Zero’ ethos, the design features the court, children’s playground, bleacher benches, chain link fence, outdoor gym, collection bins, in-store campaign presence and restoration of existing elements. The renewal aims to re-energize the local neighborhood while providing a space for play and for sport among kids and adults alike.
After a year delay due to the worldwide pandemic, October 1st saw the inauguration of one of the most anticipated events of the year; the Expo 2020 in Dubai. The event, which is being held for the first time in the Middle East, focuses on architecture, culture, and innovation, with over 191 national participants. The pavilions on display are divided into three districts: Mobility, Sustainability, and Opportunity, each showcasing how their country has contributed and will contribute to its respective theme. In addition to the national pavilions, each district has its own thematic pavilion: the Sustainability Pavilion “Terra” by Grimshaw, the Mobility Pavilion “Alif” by Foster + Partners, and the Opportunity Pavilion “Mission Possible” by AGi Architects.
Read on to discover 6 must-see national pavilions of each district that explored their designated theme in a unique and captivating way.
China is undergoing a rapid urbanization process, and in South China’s Greater Bay Area (GBA), it takes the form of a comprehensive development strategy. The region, comprising the cities of Hong Kong, Macau as well as other nine fast-developing municipalities in Guangdong Province, is being transformed into a city-cluster of world importance and architecture practice. Ronald Lu & Partners contributes to this vision through high-density urban developments shaped around principles of sustainability and human-centric design.
Formerly known as the Bibliotheque du Roi, the Richelieu site of the National Library of France near the Palais-Royal has finally completed construction after almost 10 years of renovations. The transformation of the 300-year-old site included facade restorations, installation of an interior garden, and facilities maintenances, promoting innovation, modernity, and openness to a wider public. The project, which is both a library and a museum, will continue to house a massive campus for the history of the arts and heritage, and provide visitors with a place for walking, discovery, and exchange. The site is expected to be open to the public in summer of 2022.
Aedas revealed its design for a mixed-use development in Shanghai, a mid-rise high-density scheme comprising several blocks of offices, retail spaces and a hotel linked by an extensive network of public spaces. A central circulation spine running across the site connects the various programs and, together with a series of green spaces, recreates the atmosphere of the organic urban fabric.
During his explorations of abandoned places across Europe, award-winning French photographer Romain Veillon has stumbled upon enchanting architectures that have been left to decay for decades. In his latest book Green Urbex: The World Without Us, Veillon explored what the world would look like if the human race disappeared and nature took its course without any human interference.
Created in association with the Seoul Biennale Of Architecture And Urbanism 2021, the documentary CROSSROADS: Life in the Resilient City pieces together five stories illustrating how individuals appropriate the rapidly changing urban environments of New York, Seoul, Mumbai, Paris and Nairobi. Created by cinematographer Nils Clauss, together with filmmaker and videographer Neil Dowling, the film captures architecture and urban landscape as both the backdrop and the protagonist of these narratives blending reality and imagination.
People die in Squid Game. Lots of people. But while violence is one of the most appealing ingredients for the success (or failure) of a television show, that's not the only reason the series has become so popular worldwide. Pop culture, mesmerizing scenarios, and a plot full of social metaphors all contribute to this.
Available for streaming since September 2021, the Netflix series Squid Game “will definitely be our biggest non-English language show in the world, for sure,” and has “a very good chance it’s going to be our biggest show ever,” according to Ted Sarandos, the platform's co-CEO and Head of Content. The survivor thriller by director Hwang Dong-hyuk tells the story of a group of 456 people who are deeply in debt competing to win 45.6 billion won (around €33 million, $38 million) in prize money.
The NYC Civic Engagement Commission (CEC), Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA), the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City and Public Artist in Residence (PAIR) Yazmany Arboleda officially kicked off The People’s Festival. This five borough series of outdoor events featured live performances, interactive workshops, and community information and resources. The festival was anchored by The People’s Bus, a retired city bus formerly used to transport people detained on Rikers Island.
Australian duo Simulaa and Natalie Alima have won the competition for the 2022 Tallinn Architecture Biennale in Estonia with an installation made of mushrooms. Titled Burlasite, the structure's base will employ 3D printing technology that will be taken over by mycelia over time. The proposal highlights repurposing and reusing local materials, and how humans can create sustainable designs with invention and environmental adaptation. The Tallinn Architecture Biennale will open to the public on September 7th, 2022, and the installation will be on display until 2024 in front of the Museum of Estonian Architecture.
The first quadrant of OMA’s Berlin KaDeWe department store transformation opened its doors to the public, revealing a new approach to retail design in the age of online shopping and shifting consumer behaviour. The masterplan divides the historic building, the largest department store in continental Europe, into four smaller, easily accessible and navigable sectors. The completed quadrant features a six-storey void containing a series of escalators and simultaneously acting as circulation, retail and event space.
"Here in the tropics, shade is the prime air conditioner and, unlike the stove, it can be created everywhere," says Bruno Stagno about architecture for the tropics. In this sense, how has Costa Rica been "building" it's shade over the years?
Acoustic comfort is affected by the levels and the nature of the sound experienced in an interior space, measured in decibels. The functionality and aesthetics of working and living spaces are usually the primary focus of the designer, however, too often overlooked, are the factors contributing to the productivity of employees or the comfort of residents. Providing a comfortable acoustic environment contributes significantly to the overall mood and health of people operating within it.
Cities around the globe have widely adopted the concept of adaptive reuse and the importance of investing in historic sites and bringing them into the present day. Instead of focusing on brand new, ground-up construction, many are seeing the value in repurposing structure for new programs. Old churches are becoming restaurants, factories are transformed into museums and apartments, and warehouses are designed to become iconic office spaces. But beyond individual buildings, some planners and preservationists are reimagining what it means to revitalize in a similar way, but at a city scale, and how we can determine the buildings that would benefit our neighborhoods if they are repurposed.
The urban settlements we inhabit today exist in their present form due to a host of reasons. There are cities that have grown due to their proximity to water – such as the growth of Dar es Salaam to the major port city it is today. There are the planned capital cities scattered around the world, governments of countries such as Brazil and Nigeria building cities from scratch from the input of acclaimed architects. There are also the settlements that exist and grow because of certain industries, such as Silicon Valley in the American state of California being home to giants of the technology industry. There’s an industry, however, that has spawned both pulsating cities and abandoned towns – the mining industry.
In the beginning of 2020 the talk series Architects, not Architecture (AnA) decided to go digital adapting to the restrictions for cultural events due to the covid-19 pandemic. Throughout the whole year and into the first quarter of 2021 their new talk series dubbed Virtual World Tour (VWT) expanded their reach from a Eurocentric approach to a global talk series, unfolding intellectual biographies of renowned and relevant international architects through the screens of thousands of viewers in their homes.
The House of the Future was designed by Alison and Peter Smithson in 1956 to showcase what house designs might be like 25 years in the future. It is an interior-focused rectangle filled in with amorphously shaped walls, storage units, and a central courtyard as well as high technology of all sorts. It is like something out of the Jetsons. While the design remains unique in the Smithsons portfolio, it was highly influential in their student’s work and firms like Archigram built upon its boldly novel concepts. Despite this long and robust influence, the structure was physically standing for only a short time. In this video, the house is reconstructed and explored in real-time. What would it have been like to occupy The House of the Future? See for yourself.
The housing shortage has long been the catalyst for architectural speculation over adaptive resue scenarios or the valorisation of underused places in cities. At the same time, the health crisis and its work from home imperatives have brought into sharp focus the adaptive reuse potential of offices spaces into housing. The probability that some office buildings remain vacant post-pandemic opens up the possibility of bringing back housing to city centres, enabling the implementation of a 15-minute city vision. The following discusses the challenges and opportunities of transforming office spaces into housing, highlighting this limited phenomenon's long-term feasibility and impact.
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